


Live to Rise

by Kai_Maciel



Category: Young Justice, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Abandonment, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Family Drama, Family Secrets, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Jealousy, Lazarus Pit, Nightmares, Regret, Resurrection, Revenge, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-07
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2017-12-04 14:21:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/711686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kai_Maciel/pseuds/Kai_Maciel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The team has a new opponent: the Red Hood, a dangerous vigilante who manages to stay one step ahead of them. However, when a new foe is able to control the dead, Nightwing and Robin are forced to join forces with the young criminal. Not only the Red Hood knows a lot about the infamous Lazarus Formula, but Jason Todd's body, Dick's deceased Robin sucessor, has disappeared.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nº 2620

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my take on the character of Jason Todd (second Robin) in the Young Justice universe. Maybe I'm part of a minority, but I love his character on both Batman: Under the Red Hood and the new Red Hood and the Outlaws (yes, I'm a girl and I don't care if Starfire is a walking sex symbol, she can wear whatever she wants).
> 
> I hope you like my story! Enjoy!

 

**Nº 2620**

**_Antarctica_ **

**_February 13, 2015, 01:45_ **

Project Lazarus was officially a failure.

It could have been a true medical miracle. Creating a formula from the water of Ra's al Ghul Lazarus Pit to raise the dead could have been the secret of immortality, but Ra's and Talia weren't interested in bringing average humans back to life. No. They wanted worthy warriors who could serve them, but it all went horribly wrong.

The dead could walk and fight, but their minds and souls were gone. They were no more than mindless zombies who attacked everyone that got in their way, thus they had to be taken down once more. Ra's had been so disgusted that he terminated the Project, but one of the doctors saw an opportunity. What if he could control the zombies somehow? Why bring back their minds if they could be such an amazing weapon with just their bodies?

The doctor disappeared with the formula and Ra's al Ghul ordered the complete destruction of the facilities along with the remaining zombies, corpses, and anyone who knew about the project.

Talia al Ghul was overseeing the wipe out herself, ignoring the screams and the blood and focusing on the matter at hand. It was bad enough that one doctor had managed to escape with the formula and she wanted to make sure no one else was going to repeat his feat. They would have to deal with Dr. Robb later in the most painful way possible.

Talia watched as her men went down to the twentieth floor of the facility and effectively killed the employees and burned the pods were the zombies were resting. She was about to alert the warriors about a separate pod when she noticed the readings of the zombie's vitals in the computer and frowned. They were... normal. If she didn't know, she would have thought they belonged to a living person.

Silently, Talia walked towards body nº 2620 and gasped when she saw his face. She ran to the computer and quickly read all the data on him.

At first, nº 2620 was just another mindless zombie staring at nothing from his pod until the doctors decided to give him a different dose of the Lazarus formula and wait for the results. His mind was blurry and it was difficult to think, but he started to take notice of his surroundings. However, what made the doctors remove him from the other experiments and consider him a special case was that he could talk. Actually, he jabbered and wasn't able to keep a normal conversation for long. Often, he either asked where he was despite being given an answer or he called for someone named Bruce over and over before breaking into tears.

When nº 2620 woke up with the sound of the shootings, he was too drugged to care. Besides, he was restrained so he couldn't do anything but lift his head and try to understand what was going on. When a dark-haired woman appeared over his face, he frowned. Her face was familiar. He had met her before, fought her…

"Ta… Talia?" the teen asked, watching her shocked face.

"Robin? Robin, is that you?" Talia asked.

 _Robin_. That's right. He was Robin, the Boy Wonder. The second person to wear the black and red costume. He was Batman's sidekick…

"I can believe this…" Talia mumbled. "I can't believe Father actually brought you too…"

"Batman" the boy interrupted. "Where's Batman?"

Talia bit her lower lip and glanced at her men, then she pressed the controls on the computer and the boy's body fell limp against her.

"Commander!" she yelled at a muscular man who immediately came to her. "Tell the men to finish the job and come with me to the surface. We're leaving."

The man looked at the battered body of the boy she was holding. "What about this one? The orders were not to leave  **anything**  behind."

"I'll make an exception. He's special" Talia answered bitterly. "My Father will support me on this decision."

Nodding, the Commander took the boy in his arms and the three of them left the facility into the cold of the Antarctic night. The boy was shivering terribly and when someone wrapped a blanket over his body, he felt a rush of panic because he realized he wasn't wearing his costume or his domino mask.

"Calm down, Jason Todd" Talia said, forcing his blurry eyes to look at her. "It's alright. We all know who you are. It doesn't matter anymore."

Even though he was drugged, the boy reacted to his real name. He knew no one was supposed to know his name was Jason Todd. Both Bruce and Dick and told him not to reveal it and never use it on the field.

"Where's… Batman?" he asked again.

Talia lowered her eyes. "Forget about him, Jason."

"Where… is… Batman?" Jason went on, his voice growing more desperate. "Where…?"

Talia grabbed Jason's shoulders. Her touch was almost gentle.

"He's not coming, Jason."

 


	2. Dark Night

**_Gotham City_ **

**_December 24, 21:34_ **

It had just started to snow when Jason started to jump from roof to roof. No one saw him, not only because he was being extremely careful but also because most people were too busy celebrating Christmas Eve or minding their own business to care.

The teen boy was wearing a dark hood and his face was covered by several bandages and a scarf. He didn't want anyone to see his face, not yet at least. Talia had told him that he would look normal in time, that his hollow eyes and his burned skin were definitely going to heal, but he didn't trust her. It didn't matter that she was been the reason he was alive, she was definitely waiting to use him for her own schemes.

Knowing that he had died was a shock, but learning that he had been brought back from the dead like some Frankenstein monster was a lot of crazy. We would have been permanently retarded if Talia hadn't tossed him into the original Lazarus Pit to heal his brain. After that, he spent months on physical therapy until his body was strong enough to flee.

Jason wanted to go back to Gotham. He wanted to let Bruce know that he was still alive (Dick too, but he would never admit it). He missed the big, cozy Wayne Manor; he missed Alfred and his sarcastic remarks, he missed Bruce brooding nature and, deep down, he kinda missed Golden Boy too.

When Jason saw the Manor, he couldn't wait to see their faces when they realized he was alive and kicking ass. No doubt Bruce and Dick were going to nag him about how reckless he had been and how it got him killed, but he knew he could do better this time around. He was going to be the greatest Robin that ever existed! C'mon! How many heroes came back from the dead?

Talia had tried to trick him with lies to make him take her side. She had told him that he hadn't been avenged and that the Joker had simply been sent into Arkham only to escape like nothing had happened and Batman hadn't done anything to make him pay for Jason's death. She had also told him that no one really missed him, that his death had been a release. Batman and his comrades thought of him as too violent, arrogant and brash. He was nothing like Dick and should never have become Robin. Jason had been a failure Robin, a mistake that had already been rectified by a more suitable replacement.

Even knowing what Talia was trying to pull, Jason's heart ached with her words because they hit a sore spot that he made sure no one knew. He knew he wasn't like Dick and that many people had their doubts about Jason being his replacement, but he could show them that he was worthy. He could prove that he was a good Robin, even if he didn't agree on Batman's "no kill" rule all the time. He knew from experience that fear wasn't enough sometimes, there would always be criminals who aren't afraid.

Jason jumped the fence and walked the familiar road to the Wayne Manor with his heart pounding in his chest.

" _I'm home,"_  the teen thought.  _"I'm finally home."_

He was practically running when he passed by a window and saw Alfred, composed as ever, setting the dining table. Suddenly feeling awkward, Jason took cover on the bushes and stared at the butler who had babied him so many times. He couldn't just burst into the manor like that. Bruce and the others could think he was a ghost, a clone, an impostor or Clayface. Not to mention that Jason didn't want to give Alfred a heart attack, especially on Christmas Eve. He had to be careful, even if he couldn't wait to just seen them all again.

" _Screw it! I'm going in!"_  the boy thought, ready to leave his hiding place.

That was when Bruce and Dick appeared in the leaving room, happily chatting with each other and greeting a smiling Alfred. They didn't look sad or mourning at all, they actually looked happier than ever.

Jason retreated against the bushes. This… this wasn't what he expected to find. In his mind, he saw Bruce brooding over his death along with Alfred and Dick more than ever because he wasn't there to celebrate Christmas with them. He wanted to believe that they would be thinking of him, but apparently, Jason's absence didn't even cross their minds. It was like they didn't even care that he was gone.

Then, the kid appeared. Jason felt his body frozen when he saw a black-haired boy walk towards Bruce and Dick. A boy he had never seen before.

The new boy said something to Bruce and the billionaire chuckled before placing a hand on his shoulder, then the kid went to Dick and the two laughed while Alfred served them tea and cookies.

The boy had the right build and the right look. He looked perfectly in tune with Bruce Wayne and the rest. Jason didn't have to see the R or the costume. He knew that kid was the new Robin and it was like he felt his own heart break into pieces.

The kid didn't bicker with Dick, they seemed to get perfectly along, unlike Jason. Just like Talia had said. He had been replaced by a better kid, someone more like Dick, someone who wasn't like Jason at all.

Slowly, the teen boy rose from his hiding place and turned around, his head low and a stream of tears running down his bandaged face. He walked away from the manor and the happy people in it. Slowly, his footsteps were covered by the falling snow and he disappeared into the dark night.


	3. The Red Hood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! It's a small chapter, but it's mostly introductory. Bear in mind that I'm basing my story on some events from Red Hood and the Outlaws, basically because I can totally see Jason and Roy as the angry duo in Young Justice.
> 
> Enjoy!

**_One year later_ **

**_Miami_ **

**_November 2, 00:12_ **

Henry Sandoval backed away until his back hit the wall. He couldn't run and there was no one left to protect him, all his men were dead.

How was that possible? How could twenty armed men lose against one single guy?

"Who the hell are you?" Sandoval asked, grabbing his Glock 18 with his trembling hands.

"Well… that doesn't really matter, does it?" the man with the red mask said, moving closer to the terrified man. "Now, Henry, we have to talk."

Sandoval fired, but the man moved out the way and kicked him in the stomach and punched him in the face before grabbing his neck. His gun fell to the ground, completely out of his reach.

"Maybe you didn't understand, I said we were going to  **talk** " the masked man groaned.

"I haven't done nothin'!"

"We both know that's a lie" the masked man answered angrily as he pushed Sandoval against the wall. "Blackmail, hits, extortion, drug dealing, gun dealer, rape and even domestic abuse. Not even your wife and son escaped, you worthless scumbag!"

"Did… did that bitch sent you?" Sandoval asked. "Did she pay you? Because I can double it! I can pay you whatever…"

"I don't want your filthy money, Sandoval! I want answers! Where did you sent the nuclear weapons?"

"Wha…?"

"Don't play dumb. I know you sold them, I've seen your payment. You couldn't care less about the lives those bombs are gonna take, do you? All you see are those zeros on your bank account!"

"You're crazy! I didn't sell any weapons!" Sandoval yelled miserably. "I'm just an honest businessman" without hesitation, the masked man shot his right leg. "AAAAAHH! GOD DAMNIT! AAH! YOU SHOT ME!"

"Damn right. Lie to me again and I'll keep shooting. Now… tell me where you sent the bombs."

Bailing pathetically, Sandoval told him everything, which the masked man recorded on his hidden phone. Then, he remembered the families this man had destroyed, the kids who died of his drug dealing, the women he raped but never got justice and the beaten faces of his wife and son. He kept all those faces in his head as he punched Sandoval to the ground and shot him in the head.

Batman wouldn't have done it. Batman would have beaten Sandoval and his thugs into a pulp and left them for the cops to find. Then, Sandoval would either pay his bail or pay some of his buddy cops to keep him out of jail and free to continue his dirty work.

Now, Henry Sandoval would never hurt anyone ever again. It didn't matter that Batman would never approve. It  _shouldn't_  matter, not anymore.

"Red Hood, here" he said to his phone. "Did you hear everything?"

"Every bit" a male voice said on the other side. "I guess we have work to do tonight."

"You can go back to bed once the bombs are destroyed, Arsenal."

"I wasn't planning on sleeping, though I had other plans in my mind. I'll bring Kori."

"Right" the Red Hood answered. "I'll see you in the harbor."

"Hood… There's something else" Arsenal said. "The League is already looking for the bombs. They'll find Sandoval soon and you. Nightwing and his kiddie gang are also looking."

Red Hood sighed as he jumped from the window into the nearest roof, avoiding any potential cameras. He knew the League Junior was already tracking him for months, but they had failed to catch him. There was no way he was going to let them sent him to jail or an asylum.

Also, he would never let them know who he really was.

"I have to work fast then," the Red Hood said.

"Do what you have to do, but don't get yourself killed," Arsenal said. "Wait for our team."

Under his mask, Red Hood frowned. "We're not a team, Arsenal."

"Maybe… but you need help and I sort of owe you. See you later, Hood."

Red Hood turned off his phone with a small smile. For reasons that he was still trying to comprehend, he had burst Roy Harper out of a prison in Qurac and let the redhead find out about his identity. Maybe it was because Red Hood identified with the original Roy Harper more than anyone else. He knew what was like to be taken away, forgotten and replaced by the people who were meant to care.

" _No time for moping"_  the seventeen-year-old thought.  _"Time to blow up a submarine."_

* * *

**_Mount Justice_ **

**_November 2, 18:23_ **

Nightwing was having a bad day. It was bad enough to know that several nukes had been smuggled from the US to a group of terrorists, but it was even worse to discover that the guy who knew were they where was dead.

They had searched for the person who sold the bombs for weeks, but when Robin and his team had finally found him, they discovered he had been murdered along with every one of his bodyguards and associates.

They didn't take long to discover who had done it. He had been careful, but one of their satellites had caught the culprit leaving Sandoval's building.

The Red Hood. That guy was playing some serious moves. Both Dick and Bruce were worried when they first found out about the guy. There had been other criminals to use the Joker's old name, but this one was different. He was a very skilled fighter and could handle any kind of weapon from guns to knives.

Nevertheless, the guy wasn't their usual criminal. He worked as a vigilante, killing other criminals very effectively. As far as they knew, he didn't do it for money, greed or revenge, but he was still a dangerous Outlaw. No one could forget that he had been to one to break Arsenal out of jail or that the latter had joined forces with him, much to Green Arrow and Red Arrow's disbelief.

"Robin to Cave! Nightwing, are you there?" his communicator buzzed.

"Nightwing here. Did you find the bombs?"

"We were too late" Robin answered. "The bombs were taken by a submarine. By the time we got there someone had already blown it up."

Dick closed his eyes. He didn't need Tim to tell him who had been responsible for blowing the submarine.

"Robin, return to the Cave. The Red Hood beat us again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the Red Hood's nature is introduced. Do you hate him? Understand him? Like him? Or ignore him?
> 
> Unlike Bruce or Dick, Jason didn't come from a loving family. His upbringing made him a more difficult child, which is understandable.
> 
> For years, Jason was blamed in the comics for his own demise. Rather than see his last stand as heroic (he tried to save his mother, despite the fact that she sold him to the Joker), the comics focused on the fact that he was reckless and disobeyed Batman (which both Dick and Tim also do). Many characters flat out said that Jason was the "failed Robin" and implied that he got what was coming to him.
> 
> Is death considered a failure? Is Jason a failure because he died? Is Stephanie or Damian?
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope you liked it.
> 
> See ya!


	4. Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, there are a couple of things I wanted to warn you about. My Jason's back story was mostly based on the origin from Red Hood and the Outlaws #0. I'm aware of the differences before the reboot and I now that in the original Death in the Family, Jason found his biological mother, Sheila.

_**Unknown Island** _

_**November 2, 19:18** _

Jason landed the ship on the white sands of the Island he, Arsenal and Starfire called headquarters/home for the last months. Starfire had been living there alone ever since her spaceship crashed into Earth. It was her safe haven against enemies, prejudiced humans, and broken hearts. No one was allowed to know about it until the alien princess saved Jason Todd.

For some unknown reason, Princess Koriand'r saved the criminal known as Red Hood from drowning and nursed him back to health. She remained calm, gentle and polite despite his bad temper and listened to his story, treated him with affection. For that, Jason thought of the beautiful Starfire as one of his precious friends.

Damn, Kori was beyond beautiful. No man with blood in his veins could ignore her. She could have orange skin and pupilless green eyes, but looking at her made a man's blood pressure rise dangerously. Also, dismissing her as a simple pretty face and body was a deadly mistake. Kori was incredibly powerful. Her touch cold melt metal and her attacks could wipe out an entire battalion. If she wanted to, she could be a living nuclear bomb, though that didn't seem to dissuade Roy.

"Finally!" the red-haired young man said with a smirk. "I can't wait for a good meal."

"I assume blowing up weapons of mass destruction can be tiring" Koriand'r answered with her usual kind smile.

"It helps when you love your job, Kori. And we are very, very good at our job. We saved the world today, we should celebrate" Roy said. "What if we eat together? We can watch the sunset."

Jason always felt surprised on how different Roy was with them. With the Team, Arsenal was harsh and bitter, constantly angered by the clear preference everyone had over his clone, Red Arrow, and unable to forgive his mentor for giving up on him while he was frozen on ice in Lex Luther's hands. Everyone understood his fear of being looked up again, but they wanted him to get over it, something Roy obviously couldn't do so soon and led to being kicked out of the Team by Nightwing. After Jason and Kori brought him along, Roy started to warm up to them and, before they knew it, he had found a place where he belonged and an amazing, hot girl to court.

"You two enjoy yourselves. I'm going to bed" Jason said, tossing Roy the keys of the kinda-of-stolen ship they got after defeating a vengeful scientist who tried to kill Kori over her Tamaranean origin.

"You don't want to come, Jay?" Roy asked, honestly sounding disappointed. "You could have dinner with us once in a while."

"Two is company, three's a crowd" the raven haired teen answered, removing his mask from his head and facing his two companions. "Thanks anyway. I'll see you in the morning."

"Jason…" Kori called, floating towards him and staring at his face. "Are you well?"

Jason smirked but he knew he wasn't fooling her. He had almost been caught by the Team and he had seen the new Robin. She knew how he felt, how it still hurt.

"I'm fine, Kori. Have fun with Harper. I'll see you guys in the morning."

As he entered the crashed starship that became their home, Jason felt glad that Grayson hadn't come with the rest of the team. It wasn't just because he felt like punching the bastard, but also because Kori would be very upset to see him.

Jason didn't know the details; he had been too focused on being Robin to even notice Dick's new love interest at the time. Besides, the guy smiled and women flocked around him. Zatanna, Barbara… Dick had always been a charmer who enjoyed the company of beautiful girls, which wasn't necessarily bad (Jason also enjoyed the companionship of a good looking girl from time to time). Thus, when Nightwing met Starfire, they felt obviously attracted to each other and dated for a while. However, Kori's feelings grew from attraction. She wanted more than dating, she wanted love and she wanted a  _forever_. She asked Dick if he loved her, he said no.

Rejection and heartbreak were feelings Jason Todd knew too damn well.

Brushing off depressing thoughts, the black haired youth entered his bedroom and took a nice and long shower. This was the part he enjoyed the most about finishing successfully a mission, the feeling of accomplishment and the time to finally relax.

As he cleaned himself up, Jason stared at his reflection in the foggy mirror. Fortunately, Talia had been right about his scars and burns, his face wasn't disfigured anymore and there were only faint scars of that fatidical night on his torso. Aside from that, he looked normal. Though… being dead and coming back was far from normal.

Unlike Roy's room or Kori's, Jason's bedroom door was soundproof. Not because he snored, but because he talked in his sleep, yelled. Jason's dreams were filled with crazed laughs of a demented clown and blood dripping from the crowbar that had beaten him into a pulp. Some nights, he also dreamed about his mother.

The worst part was that, up until the end, he had loved her. Catherine Todd wasn't the best mom, but the moments when she wasn't clouding her mind with drugs or too high to even notice his presence, Jason enjoyed the way she stroked his hair, the warmth of her hugs, the way she let him sleep in her bed when he was scared.

He knew he had to protect her, especially after his dad was arrested. He convinced himself that if he took care of her, his mom wouldn't be so depressed all the time and she would stop using drugs. That's why Jason stood by the door with a baseball bat to keep the dealers away from their house, which was why he stole medicine, clothes, and food from his neighbors so she could eat and get better. Even as a small boy, he knew his mom was sick and he would do anything to help her, then they would be a family like the ones he saw on TV.

Then, one night, after he went looking for food, Jason returned to an empty house. He called his mom and looked all over for her, but he knew already why she wasn't home. The money he had hidden in the cookie jar was gone; she had gone to buy another dose.

He found her in a dirty alley, leaning against the wall with her head down like a broken doll. She looked like she was just asleep, so he shook her and called her name. After a while, his screams alerted the neighbors. The paramedics pushed him away as they tried to revive her, but it was worthless. They said she was dead. They called her  _"another dead junkie"_. Still shaking with horror, Jason saw the lights of the police car and ran away. His mom was gone, he didn't want to go to jail too.

At the age of ten, he was all alone in the world and he needed to survive. No one cared about a street rat like him and he learned how to swallow his tears and harden his heart into stone. He didn't want to be a crook and he didn't hurt anybody, but he did what he had to do to stay alive in Gotham's deadly streets. He would have probably ended up dead a lot sooner if he hadn't tried to steal Batman's tires and gotten caught.

Suddenly, Jason went from a crappy street to a luxurious mansion along with food, clean and warm clothes and even his own bedroom. Obviously, he didn't believe the Bat was going to help him and he waited for his chance to run once the vigilante tried to send him to juvie, instead, he learned about Batman's secret identity, he got to know Bruce Wayne and Alfred, he trained hard and he became Robin. Suddenly, his life had a new meaning. He wasn't trash on the streets anymore; he was making a difference and being a hero. He wasn't alone anymore. It was the best time of his life.

But he should have known it wouldn't last. You could take the kid off the streets, but you couldn't take the streets off the kid. Jason's anger was what made him survive during his childhood and he used that same fire against the criminals he fought. Soon, both Batman and the Team felt uneasy with him. They were too used to Dick's easy nature and, probably subconsciously, they expected Jason to turn up just like his predecessor. When he didn't, once they realized Jason's fiery personality was a part of him, they started to doubt him and question openly if he should go on missions, if he wasn't too reckless and dangerous. After a while, Jason refused to go on missions with them all together. He knew when he wasn't wanted and he was sick and tired of being compared to  _"Saint"_  Dick, who was perfect and God forbid if he ever did anything wrong.

It would have been fine, but Batman started to doubt him as well. Their fights grew more frequent with each patrol, the words became bitter. Finally, Bruce said something that hurt him more than all the insults he had heard on his life.

"I starting to think I made a mistake,, " Bruce told him grimly after another fight. "I should have never made you into Robin."

Those words cut deep, more than a knife. Over the years, he had come to look up to Bruce more than anybody else. He began to see him as the father he wished he had and, foolish and gullible as he was, he actually believed he felt the same way.

Soon, Jason was on monitor duty and he knew that was only a step away from being "fired". While he was looking at the different screens in the Bat Cave, he saw her. His mom shopping, happy, smiling. Alive.

Jason remembered how he stared at the holographic image for a long time, tears running down his cheeks and a smile of happiness on his face. He didn't even think when he packed his Robin costume and caught the next airplane. All he could think was about seeing his mother and hug her again. To hell with Bruce's permission! Who needed a fake family when he could have a real one?

So he tracked her down and he found her, just like he found that she was being blackmailed by the Joker into smuggling medical supplies from the clinic where she was working. Jason promised that he was going to protect her and told her not to worry. She took him to a warehouse, where they could talk about their plans to escape the Joker.

She lied.

The moment the doors closed, Jason was held at gun point by the Joker and his thugs. He looked desperately at his mother, confused.

"Mom…?"

Catherine looked down. "I'm sorry, but the Joker would never let me leave."

Jason tried to fight, but the thugs restrained him and handcuffed him. All he could do was stare at his mom, who he protected, who he loved, who had just betrayed him to an insane murder while pleading for her life to be spared.

When the Joker started beating him with the crowbar, Catherine looked away. The pain was unbearable, but Jason couldn't escape the blows. He felt every hit break his ribs, his jaw, his arms, ripping up flesh and muscle until he was choking on his own blood.

"Wow, that looked like it really hurt," the Joker said with a huge grin on his face before hitting Jason several more times. "Whoa, now, hang on. That looked like it hurt a lot more. So let's try and clear this up, okay, pumpkin? What hurts more? A?" he beat him again on the torso. "Or B?" he hit him on his face, on his back, on his abdomen. "Forehand? Or backhand?"

The boy tried to talk, but the words wouldn't come. He didn't know how many of his bones were broken and it was getting hard to breathe. Soon, the mad clown grew bored with the beating, so he ordered his men to tie Catherine to a pole and leave them both with a bomb about to explode.

"No! Don't leave me here!" his mom yelled. "I did everything you asked! You already have him! Don't let me die!"

Despite his pain, Jason tried to crawl to where his mother was tied up. He told her that he was going to save her and managed to untie her ropes. The moment she was free, his mother ran to the door and left him on the ground. Jason was too weak, too injured to move anymore and could only stare at her desperate attempts to open a door which was obviously locked.

With a sob, Jason looked at the bomb's timer and thought of Bruce. He remembered being sad that he didn't get to say "goodbye" or "thank you" or… "I'm sorry."

Then, the world exploded with pain and fire, and he plunged into the darkness.

After dressing his nightclothes, Jason lay on his bed and stared at the beautiful sunset. He should be dead and rotting on a coffin somewhere. Instead, a group of egomaniacs had brought him back into a world which didn't want him back.

It was pathetic how he still wondered how Bruce and the others would react if they knew that he was alive. Honestly, he had been about revealing his identity plenty of times. That's when he picked up the recorder Talia had given him.

After his disastrous attempt at his reunion in Gotham, Talia found Jason again and took him to be trained by the best assassins on the planet. Before she left, she gave him a recorder and told him that she had picked up frequencies on the Bat Cave and Mount Justice. He had recorded several conversations about him.

Though he knew the recordings by heart, Jason pressed the play button.

" _What are you_ _ **doing**_ _Bruce?"_ Nightwing was yelling at Batman. _"When I was growing up with you, I always knew where the line was… Exactly what we did, exactly what we didn't do, and why._ _But Jason didn't know what the hell he was doing or why!"_

**BIP**

" _It's not your fault"_  Alfred whispered. _"The lad was determined to disobey you."_

**BIP**

" _Jason was brash. Impulsive. Headstrong. Never looking before he leaped,"_ Batman said. _"But I didn't stop him because he wanted it so badly. He wanted too much to prove something."_

There were more conversations, several more. It hurt him, but he needed to hear his so called "friends and family's" true feelings about the arrogant and incompetent Robin. He needed to remember why revealing his identity was a huge mistake. He was dead to them and he should keep it that way. It wasn't that he didn't expect them to move on without him, he just didn't think they would move on so easily.

With a sigh, Jason turned off the recorder and closed his eyes. He hoped for a dreamless night for a change.

* * *

_**Mount Justice** _

_**November 2, 22:06** _

Tim and his squad returned to the Team's new headquarters with a tired and grim expression on their faces. The mission had been a total failure! The submarine and the nukes were destroyed, several criminals were dead and the Red Hood had escaped again. All that under Robin's lead!

As his companions hit the showers grumbling, Tim walked towards Nightwing, who was busy on the computer screen.

"We failed the mission, " Robin said, lowering his head. "I'm sorry… I should have done better."

Nightwing stared at his protégé with a small but reassuring smile. "You did the best you could, Tim. Everyone came back alive, that's what really matters."

Tim nodded, but he still felt troubled. "It's just… I keep thinking that if I hadn't hesitated so much… if I wasn't so careful, we would have gotten there in time."

"No! You did well. You thought things through and played it safe" Dick answered, his voice slightly harsher.

"I know… But I wonder if I would be a better leader if I was more confident, more impulsive…"

"A leader needs to be careful, not impulsive!" Nightwing said, raising his voice. "You have to know the line between what you can and can't do! If you don't, you're being just reckless and irresponsible. We don't need that kind of Robin, both Batman, and Team! If you don't watch out, you will certainly end up dead…"

Dick stopped talking; his eyes wide and shocked before clenching his fists. Tim didn't need to be a Martian to know who Dick was thinking about.

"Take a shower. We'll go back to Gotham in an hour" Nightwing said, shifting his focus to the computer screen once again.

Tim complied, though his mind was filled with questions he knew he couldn't ask. It was an unspoken rule in the Bat Team: no one talks about Jason Todd. It was ironic because Jason had been how he had found out Batman's secret identity and the reason why Tim was wearing the Robin costume right now.

It took him ages to convince Bruce that Batman needed a Robin. Jason's death had almost destroyed him and Nightwing and, even though no one dared to talk about him, they could still feel his ghost haunting them like an invisible force. When they went to the Bat Cave, Batman always glanced at the glass case with Jason's Robin costume, his eyes sad and filled with guilt and sorrow over the boy he couldn't save.

Despite never knowing him, Tim's entire training was a result of Jason's death. Both Batman and Nightwing repeatedly taught him the importance of thinking things through, to listen to orders, to look and wait before jumping into a fight. Their intentions were good, they wanted to keep Tim alive, and they didn't want to make the same mistake that cost Jason his life. However, Tim often found himself thinking way too long before acting to the point where he barely did anything at all.

* * *

**Gotham**

**November 2, 23:33**

When Tim and Dick arrived at the Bat Cave, Tim told his adopted older brother that he needed to do some research on the computer.

"Alright, but don't stay up until late" Dick said, his harshness long gone. "Remember you have school tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know! G'night!"

The moment Dick's left the cave, Tim logged into the training records and click on one of the videos from 2013. Batman was working with the League and Dick was probably getting into his bed, it was the perfect opportunity for Tim to learn more about his predecessor without opening old wounds.

There was nothing left of Jason Todd in the Manor. All his belongings had been taken, along with any photos of him; even his old bedroom was locked. The only thing that proved that the young boy had ever existed in that house was the glass case with his costume. Tim had expected Batman to erase all of Jason's data from the computer as well, but fortunately, he hadn't.

The video was from a training exercise. Tim's eyes widened as he saw the twelve-year-old Robin running through the fake alley, throwing kicks and shuriken with an infectious grin on his mischievous face.

" _That's it? You could have given me something harder to beat, old man!"_  Jason yelled at the screen.

" _Cockiness will get you killed"_  Batman answered through the communicator.

" _I finished your little maze in no time flat."_

" _You scored in the 95_ _th_ _percentile, Jason"_ Bruce answered solemnly.  _"But you need to be_ _ **better**_ _than that"_ the camera shifted towards a holographic old lady that Jason's shuriken had accidently hit.  _"Collateral damage is simply_ _ **unacceptable**_ _."_

" _Yeah, well…"_  the young Robin in-training mumbled, both ashamed and defensive. " _Maybe the old biddy ratted us out to the Moxon mob. Bet she was a stoolie."_

" _I'm resetting the program. Stretch out and get ready to go again!"_

Jason pouted for two seconds before smirking at the camera.  _"Fine! I bet I can finish it even faster! Keep your eyes open, Bruce!"_

Tim had to smile at the kid. He was definitely different from Dick, but he had his own charm. Back when he was a little kid, Tim remembered staring at the TV screen and watching Robin kick the bad guys' butt. Jason had been the Robin he had looked up to, the one he saw as cool, badass and apparently unstoppable. The Robin on fire!

Silently, the young teenager turned off the computer and undressed his uniform. As he glanced at the case, he couldn't help but wonder what Jason would think of him as his successor.

He wished he could have gotten to know him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jason had two different back stories before the reboot. The first, he was a young acrobat just like Dick and had red hair. Then, during the Infinite Crisis, his origin was changed to the better known story of Jason as a street kid (with real black hair) who tried to steal the tires of the Batmobile.
> 
> Then why is Jason's hair red in some of the recent issues while keeping his street punk origin? Because the writers either A) didn't do their research or B) they did and didn't care. The result was a very weird adaptation of the Red Hood. One moment he was fine, the other he was insane. In one issue he was an anti-hero, the other he was a crazy psychopath.
> 
> Which was why, in my opinion, the new 52 was the best thing for Jason's character because it gave him consistency.
> 
> There are many people who strongly disagree and enjoy the "Villain Jason" more and I'm okay with that. I'm not an expert. I'm just someone who started reading the comics last November because I loved Jason's character on the Batman: Under the Red Hood movie.
> 
> I hope you liked the chapter! Feel free to tell me what you thought!
> 
> See ya!


	5. Dead and Living

_**Unknown Island** _

_**November 17, 11:50** _

It had been a lazy morning.

After three days of dismantling a human trafficking ring, which included a lot of bullets, different kinds of arrows, fire blasts, broken bones, dead bodies and lots of bruises, Jason officially announced they were taking a few days off.

It wasn't easy to evade the Justice League and the Team from finding them, but Roy had recently discovered a new-found pleasure for technology and managed to throw them off. From the newspapers Jason read the next day, all the heroes had found were the terrified, yet free slaves and bodies of their captors. Captain Atom declared that they would find and apprehend the  _'brutal vigilantes before their destructive nature caused more casualties.'_

Thanks for nothing, Captain.

They wouldn't lose a night's sleep mourning over those poor criminals. Not after what they had done to those people, using them as slaves, sexual objects, stealing their organs only to discard them once they were of no further use like trash. It was the ugliest face of humanity.

Jason, Roy, and Kori had seen a lot of ugly, perhaps too much. They saw so much ugliness in this world that it almost made Jason lose faith in humanity.

"It's important to take a step back and stare at all the goodness there still is in the world," Alfred used to say. "We need to see the good to remember why we are fighting in the first place."

_Alfie. Good, old Alfred._

Leaning against a rock by the ocean, Jason smiled fondly. Despite everything, thinking of the old butler always made him smile, even if his chest ached with longing and regret. Alfred was the one who was there for him when he needed, be it food, medical treatment of simply to hear him when no one else bothered to ask Jason how he felt. Alfred was the glue that held the Bat Family together, without him they would all be lost.

Running down the beach, Jason remembered the one time he had honestly cried in shame. Not when Bruce figured out what he had done on the streets to buy food for his mother, not when he messed up on patrol for the first time, not even when Bruce yelled at him that he should be more like Dick. No. Jason Peter Todd had burst into tears when he let Alfred down.

* * *

_**Gotham** _

_**December** _

_**4 years earlier** _

_Only a few months after Jason started attending Gotham Academy and things weren't working out at all. Bruce had been inflexible on his decision to enroll him at the prestigious school, no matter how much the thirteen-year-old complained that he didn't belong in some fancy school with uniforms and filled with rich kids. After two years being home-schooled in the Manor until he reached his peers, the last thing Jason wanted was to be forced to go to a place where we would never fit in._

_After a lot of yelling, cursing and punishments, Jason had no choice but put on the stupid uniform and go with Dick to that stupid school. Being the new kid was bad enough, but being Bruce Wayne's new ward and Dick's new 'brother' put him immediately under the unwelcome spotlight. It didn't take long for everyone to realize how different Jason was from the friendly and popular Dick Grayson and for the comparisons and criticism to begin. By the end of the first day, Jason had broken two noses and was sent to the Principal's Office._

_There were no improvements the following weeks. Jason had a lot of enemies and no friends. All the teachers had met the Dick and made Jason shake with rage as they consistently compared both boys and praised the oldest. Every time Dick tried to talk to him, it only made Jason angrier and they both ended up yelling at each other and regularly coming to blows. Bruce was furious, vehemently believing Jason was being difficult on purpose and refused to take him out of that school and enroll him in a public one. For the first time in a long time, Jason missed his freedom on the streets where he didn't continuously feel out of place and a big, fucking failure. But he knew he was being selfish and ungrateful, which only made him feel even lower._

_One night, while Jason was grounded (again), Alfred entered his bedroom with a tray of fresh-baked cookies, his school uniform, and some old book._

" _I thought prisoners weren't allowed to eat cookies. Or did you bring them to torture me, Al?" the pre-teen asked, taking off his headphones._

" _Of course not, Master Jason. You are free to eat as much as you want."_

_Jason jumped from his bed and walked towards the butler, grabbing one of the warm cookies. "Bruce doesn't know you brought them, does he?"_

" _Master Bruce didn't ask," Alfred opened the wardrobe and placed the uniform inside. "He did miss you at dinner. We all did."_

" _Yeah, right," Jason laughed bitterly. "I bet you guys really missed all the yelling from the '_ stubborn, irascible' _brat. And by the way, I do know what irascible means. I'm not as dumb as he thinks."_

" _He doesn't think that, Master Jason."_

_Jason felt his eyes burn and looked at the window. "Yes, he does."_

_Alfred turned to the boy with a sad gaze. "Master Bruce was angry when he said that. I know it is difficult for you to understand, but Master Bruce is only doing what he believes is best for you."_

_Jason lowered his head and swallowed a cookie. "But he's wrong, Alfred. He thinks he's always right, but he's wrong. He doesn't understand. I don't belong in that school… I'm not Dick."_

_The butler closed the wardrobe and sat next to the boy. "Master Richard is himself. Obviously, you're not going to be him. You are two different people with different backgrounds, experiences, and personalities." Surprised, Jason looked up at Alfred. "Asking you to be like Master Richard would be like asking fire to be like water. Unreasonable and unfair… that's what I just told Master Bruce."_

_Jason couldn't believe it. Alfred had stood up for him? In front of Bruce?_

" _You… really did that?"_

_Alfred nodded and placed a warm hand around his shoulders. "Master Bruce is stubborn. Probably as stubborn as you, which is why you two argue so much. You are too alike. But that does not mean that he doesn't care for you, quite the opposite. Enrolling you in the Academy wasn't to place you under Master Richard's shadow; it was so you could have the same opportunities he did. He wouldn't have done it if he didn't believe you could do it."_

_Jason felt himself blush. So far, his grades had been miserable and he recognized he hadn't made that much of an effort to control his temper. He had only given the teachers and the other students more reasons to look down on him._

" _Which reminds me… I believe you'll be needing this," Alfred handed the old book to Jason. It was a very old version of Oliver Twist. The pages were yellowed and used; obviously, Alfred had read it thousands of times. And, on the first page, there was an autograph from some guy named Ron Moody._

" _What's this?"_

" _That, young sir, is an autographed version of Oliver Twist by none other than Ron Moody, the actor who won the Golden Globe for the musical. It was one of the few possessions I brought from England. It reminds me of my happier days as an actor. I played the role of Artful Dodger as a boy, believe it or not," the butler explained, looking truly happy. "You know the story?"_

" _Oliver Twist? Sure. There are lots of movies about it."_

" _But you have to read the book and deliver a paper about it, don't you?"_

" _Yeah…" Jason didn't question Alfred's knowledge about his homework since he always seemed to know what he had to study. Still, Jason was planning on watching the movie and use the internet for that assignment._

" _Well, I would like you to read it from this book."_

_The boy gaped. "Wait. What? From this one? Your book?"_

" _Of course. I would be honored to lend it to you."_

" _But… this is your book. You just said it's special to you," Jason honestly didn't know what to say. Alfred couldn't lend something this important and personal. Not to him._

" _Well, I know Master Bruce has a fine collection of Dickens novels in the library, but… I wanted you to read the story from my book, Master Jason. I hope you'll like it as much as I did."_

_Jason grabbed the book and hesitantly hugged Alfred. "I… I'll read it. I'll take good care of it, Alfred. Thank you."_

_The butler smiled warmly and led the boy to the kitchen so he could eat his dinner._

_A few days later, Jason was working on his paper on the city's library. He had read the book and even enjoyed it, though he wished Artful Dodger had a happy ending. More importantly, Jason was determined to make Alfred proud and prove Bruce that he could be a good student. He couldn't help but wish for a prize of his own among the trophies of the school, including Dick's._

_He took the subway in the late afternoon, right after he finished the paper. He felt proud of himself and knew that he was going to get a good grade. He had worked on it for days straight, along with other homework, training, and patrol. No wonder he felt so drowsy._

_When he got to the station, Jason yawned, grabbed his backpack and walked towards the exit along the other passengers. Then, it all happened very fast._

_He left the subway at the same time he felt someone pull his backpack. Surprised, the boy turned around and saw a man with a green bonnet pulling his backpack from his shoulder to the subway. Jason tried to go back inside, only to be knocked down by the hasty passengers._

_In horror, he saw the doors close and the subway disappear inside a tunnel along with the thief, his backpack, his phone, his paper on Oliver Twist and Alfred's book._

_Jason refused to go back home without Alfred's book, so he went looking for the thief and every pawn shop he could find, praying the guy didn't burn it. He looked everywhere without stop under the freezing snow. He couldn't go home without the book. He couldn't let Alfred down, not when he had trusted him with something so important from his past. He wouldn't stop until he found it._

_Batman and Nightwing found the boy almost 48 hours later, wet and freezing, trying to break into a pawn shop and completely inconsolable._

_Jason got pneumonia and was taken to the Hospital. He almost lost two of his fingers to the cold. Still, all he could think about was Alfred's book and how he had failed him by being so useless and stupid to have let some thief take it._

_The butler himself went to see him in the hospital. He told Jason not to worry about the book, that it wasn't his fault, that he shouldn't have put himself in danger over it, that it didn't matter, it was just some old book…_

_That was when Jason broke down into tears, shame and regret burning his insides like acid. Alfred was shocked and tried to calm him down, while the boy said he was 'sorry' over and over._

* * *

_**Unknown Island** _

_**Present day** _

Jason ran towards the fallen spaceship he now called home. Kori was sitting in a chair, under the sun. As soon as she heard Jason, she looked at him and smiled.

"Hello. Did you have a good run?" she asked joyfully.

"Yes. I missed my morning run." Kori reached out for the cooler and tossed Jason a water bottle. "Thanks, Kori. Where the hell is Harper?"

Koriand'r shrugged. "Roy said he wanted to buy new clothes since his old ones are growing too tight, though I don't see what the problem with tight clothing is. You earthlings give too much importance to those things."

Jason finished his water bottle and laughed. "I guess you're right, Kori. But you have to understand not everyone looks as great as you in any clothing."

"Thank you, Jason. You're not so bad yourself… or Roy. He smiles a lot more now, don't you agree?"

"I guess. I wasn't paying attention to his smiling patterns, but I guess he isn't as doom and gloom as he used to be."

Kori pulled her long hair away from her face. "None of us is. I'm glad. Oh! There comes Roy!"

Arsenal landed the ship and jumped to the sand. He was carrying several red bags which, with his red clothes, made him look like a long-haired Santa Claus. "Morning. I've come bearing gifts."

"It's a bit early for Christmas, Harper," Jason said, while Starfire stood up and floated towards him.

"What did you bring?" she asked.

"A bit of everything. I got us some tech and computers…"

"AKA more toys to you," Jason grinned.

Roy chuckled. "I do love my toys. I also bought more computers to aid our cause since two of them blew up in our faces last time we tried to hack into the JL computer. This time I bought Wayne Tech. You know, Jason, from Gotham. You said they had good quality."

Jason stared at the familiar logo on the computers. "Yes. Yes, they have."

Sensing his new friend's discomfort, Roy quickly placed the new tech in the bag. Like all Bat-Kids, Jason was extremely secretive when it came to his and Batman's identity. He only knew Nightwing's first name was 'Dick' (really?) because Kori had mentioned it. Aside from that, he only knew that his leader's name was Jason Todd, he was from Gotham and the second Robin, killed by the Joker about a year before Roy was found in Tibet.

Jason was cool. He understood what Roy had been through, which explained why he felt more at home with him and Kori than with Ollie and the Team. As far as Roy was concerned, these were his new teammates now, hopefully for a long, long time.

"What else did you bring, Harper?"

"I bought Kori a dress," Roy took out the white dress. "I saw you staring at it in the catalog."

Kori smiled, admired the dress and gave Roy a hug that lifted him up from the ground. "Thank you, Roy. This is a wonderful present."

"You're… welcome," Roy answered, his cheeks matching his clothes now.

"Well, it does feel like Christmas now," Jason said.

"You didn't think I'd forget you, did you, Jaybird?"

Jason smiled dangerously. "Call me 'Jaybird' again and I'll give  **you**  a nice present."

"Always so nice and caring, our beloved leader," Roy grinned mischievously and tossed Jason a new Red Hood helmet. "I have more spare parts if you want to build more. Though you really should stop blowing them up."

Jason stared at the small, yet deadly bomb inside his helmet. Pressing a bottom on his uniform was enough to make an explosion after he removed the helmet from his head of course.

"I'll think about it. What about the rest of the bags, Harper?"

"Oh. This..." Roy bent over and took something out of the bag. "…is my new style."

Roy had bought a trucker hat. A freaking trucker hat. A freaking green, trucker hat, with  _'I'm not rude. I just don't like you'_  written with bright red letters.

"What the hell?" Jason cried out, while Kori blinked in confusion.

"Cool, isn't it?" Roy said happily, putting on the hat. "I saw it in a store and it was love. But when asked some girl what she thought she said I looked like an idiot. So…" he picked up the bag and dumped a bunch of trucker hats on the sand. "… I bought them all."

Jason covered his eyes with his hand. "Oh, for Christ's sake."

"How many do you have there?" Kori asked, picking up a blue with  _'What would Tesla do?'_  written.

"About twenty-five. I think I'm going to start collecting them and wear a different one each day. Isn't it cool?"

"It looks like fun, Roy," Kori said.

"Don't encourage him, Kori. All that's missing is a  _'Kiss me. I fight crime'_  hat."

"Well, now that you mentioned it…" Roy picked up the respective trucker hat with those same words, in  **pink**.

"For crying out loud!"

* * *

After a shower, Jason put on some clean clothes and met Kori and Roy (still wearing the damn hat!) in the kitchen. All three knew how to cook, but Roy had the decency of bringing pizza which meant a laid-back lunch in the dining room, sitting on Kori's giant sofas and watching the new on their new giant plasma TV. Sometimes, life was good.

After eating, Jason began to doze off, barely listening to Roy and Kori talking about visiting Venice or Monte Carlo. It would be nice, he guessed, going on vacation, having fun. They had the money to do it.

It would be nice to forget the crimes, the League, the Team, Batman and the Joker, even if only for a short while. Damn, Jason and Roy were seventeen and Kori twenty-one, they should be living while they could.

But Jason knew why couldn't feel at ease. He would never feel at peace as long as he heard the Joker's laugh every night, his mother's cries, the pain of the crowbar on his body. It would never stop until he found that fucking clown and killed him. That was the reason he was brought back into this world while so many of Ra's warriors had perished in the labs.

He was going to find the Joker and do what Batman should have done. What he would have done for Batman, who thought so little of Jason that he had tarnished his memory with insults and let his killer run free.

Alfred had been wrong. Bruce had never cared. Just like with his father and mother, Jason had been nothing but a mistake. But he had been worst because he had allowed Jason to hope. He should have left him in the streets.

Suddenly, Jason's green-blue eyes snapped opened and he stood up with a jump. Batman was fighting on the TV. He was kicking several soldiers and policemen with deathly pale skin and hollow eyes. Jason had seen those eyes. He had those eyes before.

"There are no explanations about why these people are attacking Washington DC," the reporter said, the camera angle changing from one Justice League member to another. "There have been reports of witnesses claiming to know these soldiers and police officers, however, they also claim they were dead."

"Jason? Jason, are you alright?" Kori asked. "You look pale."

"I'm fine, Kori. I'm fine."

Roy stood up and stared at his leader. "What now? Are we going to do something about this?"

In response, Jason glared at the monitor.

* * *

_**Washington DC** _

_**November 17, 14:02** _

"I don't get it," Beast Boy asked. "Washington is being attacked by whom?"

The entire Team flew over the city, still trying to understand what on earth was going on. According to the news reports, several buildings, military bases and police stations were under attack. According to the images, the enemies were police officers and soldiers.

"I've identified about twenty attackers," Nightwing said, his fingers running through the ship's computer. "But… something doesn't make sense."

"What?" Batgirl asked, moving next to him and looking at the data. "Wait… Those dates… Is that what I think it is?"

"What?" Conner asked.

"All the identified attackers are listed as… deceased," Nightwing informed the shocked team.

"How can  **that**  be possible?" Bumblebee asked, frowning. "There must be a mistake with the data."

"Maybe they're spies who faked their own death!" Impulse suggested.

"Not according to the files I pulled," Nightwing added. "Most of these men and women died in the line of duty and they were autopsied. There are photos and videos of the autopsies to prove it."

"What are you saying, Nightwing?" Tim asked, as dumbfounded as the rest. "Are those people… zombies?"

"That's impossible!" Bumblebee hissed. "It's scientifically impossible to make a dead body use it's motor functions again."

Nightwing showed them the television images of the dead attackers. Their bodies were beaten and gray and their eyes were hollow. Beating or shooting them seemed to have no effect at all like they couldn't feel pain.

Superman had already arrived at the scene and though he tossed one of the zombies against a wall, he just stood up with his broken arm and attacked him again viciously.

All in all, it was a terrible afternoon. Both the Team and the League tried not to harm the supposed zombies, while their families and loved ones cried in vain to make them stop and come to their senses. It was horrifying to see someone they loved who had died and watch helplessly as their bodies were controlled like dolls.

"Please! Please, don't hurt him!" a middle-aged man begged Batman, blocking his way. "Please, he's my son. He came back to us. Please… this is a miracle."

"This is no miracle," Batman answered, pushing the grieving father away from his zombie son's attack. "This is a curse. That's not your son anymore."

Dick stared sadly at the crying father before focusing on his own fight. Nightwing and Robin managed to electrocute several zombies, which slowed them down but didn't stop them.

"I got it!" Batgirl yelled. "There an unknown magnetic field surrounding the city. That can't be a coincidence!"

"I'll find it!" Blue Beetle yelled, flying into the sky.

 _There, Jaime Reyes. The magnetic energy is coming from those coördinates_ the Scarab told him.

"Right! I'm on my way," Jaime flew across the city, landing on a roof top where he found a small machine, very similar to a radio.  _Guys, I think I found it. Hold on, I'm going to get rid of it._

 _Wait, Blue_ , Batgirl urged.  _We have no idea what that machine is doing or why._

_What do you want me to do?_

_Can you reverse the magnetic field or stop the transmission without destroying the machine?_

_I don't know… I'll try_ , Jaime aimed both his hands to the strange machine and watched as his armor morphed and released a strange light.

At first, nothing seemed to be happening and Blue Beetle was about to ask for permission to blow the machine when he realized the readings were becoming weaker. In the city, the zombies stopped moving a stared blankly into the sky before falling to the ground like puppets whose strings had been cut.

Carefully, trying to block the zombie's father's cries of anguish as he shock his son's body, Batman checked his vital signs. There were no pulse, no breathing, no heartbeat…

They were dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's pace was a bit slower than I expected, but I still hope you guys liked it. What do you think of Alfred as the Artful Dodger (aka Jack Dawkins)?
> 
> Yeah, I brought Roy's trucker hat into the story. I regret nothing!
> 
> Also, the prequel to this story is called Robin Legacy. I'm writing them side simultaneously.
> 
> I hope you liked it. Feel free to leave new cool phrases for Roy's hats!


	6. Project Lazarus

  _ **The WatchTower**_

_**November 17, 16:09** _

Batgirl's call to not destroy the machine was greeted with a satisfied nod from Batman, who immediately began to look over it. It took him almost thirty seconds to crack the password and finally find the contents he was looking for and more.

There was an encrypted video.

"Superman and the others are coming," Barbara said, staring at the monitors. "Black Canary stayed to inform the authorities."

Batman nodded. "And the bodies?"

"We got permission to do an autopsy," Nightwing told them as he entered the room, followed closely by Robin. "It's going to be complicated, though… the families are demanding their loved ones back."

"They're hoping they can come back to life again," Batman said flatly. "As soon as they realize they were dead all along, the better."

Nightwing frowned but remained silent. Bruce's coldness unnerved him, even though he knew his mentor was right. Dick couldn't help but feel sympathy for those families, he knew he wouldn't be able to fight his parents' zombies either.

"So… I heard we have a video?" Green Arrow entered the room, followed by the other members of the League and the Team. "Did the zombie puppet master leave it on purpose?"

"Yes. He knew we were going to be dealing with the zombies, find his machine and stop them," Batman explained. "He was either stupid or very confident."

"Then what was the purpose of the attack?" Wonder Woman asked. "Test us against his or hers' creation?"

"Either that or to test the creation on us," Batman answered.

Superman crossed his arms over his massive chest, the cries of those families still echoing in his head. He looked really angry. "Let's see what this person wants us to hear."

Batman pressed the play bottom and the face of a middle-aged, brown-haired man filled the screen. He was sitting in a simple black chair, against a white background.

" _ **Greetings, Members of the Justice League. I see you've managed to not only stop my soldiers but also find this message. Congratulations."**_

"Soldiers?!" Conner cried out in outrage. "Who does he think…?"

"Hush, Conner," M'gann told him, grabbing his arm.

" _ **I know you will study the remnants of my transmitter device, as well as trying to figure out how it made dead humans come back to life. Well… let me save you the trouble, even though I know you will try to confirm everything I said. My name is Dr. Edward Robb. I'm a scientist with enough resources to create my own army of, if you want to be specific, undead soldiers. The ones you saw were only a mere fraction of my greatest arsenal, which I will be using very soon. There is so much to the human body, even after death. Why waste bodies by burying or cremating them if they can still serve a greater purpose?"**_

"Bastard!" Wonder Girl hissed.

" _ **I have no doubt that you won't understand the greater purpose. Just as I know that you'll try to stop me, so let me make this clear. You can't stop me. It is too late for that. But feel free to try and humor me. Who knows? Maybe you'll have the honor of joining my soldiers. Until then… Farewell."**_

Dr. Robb smiled coldly at the camera and the screen went black. Batman rose from his seat and faced his livid companions.

"Find everything you can about Dr. Edward Robb."

Three hours later they had collected a fair amount of information on the ' _good_ ' doctor. Apparently, Edward Robb was under FBI investigation for thirty murders across nine different hospitals across the US. His photo matched the man they saw in the video.

Dr. Robb was a brilliant biologist and geneticist, claiming to have developed numerous cures for untreatable diseases. Unfortunately, his oblivious patients always ended up dead. Then, about two years ago, he vanished without a trace.

Through face recognition, they found he had taken several planes right after his escape from the last hospital where he had been. Dr. Robb looked happier and chatted endlessly with the equally satisfied passengers that accompanied him from one plane to the next. A quick check revealed those passengers were all scientists from different fields. It also revealed them as currently missing.

Their final destination: Antarctica.

* * *

_**Antarctica** _

_**November 17, 19:21** _

Batman stared at the white snow with a frown. Beside him, Superman had just finished using his X-Ray vision on the huge mountains of ice.

"Well?" the Dark Knight asked.

"There's nothing on the surface, but I found a huge building underground," Clark explained. "There should be about thirty sub-levels. I have no idea how they manage to build this, especially in secret."

"Money usually silences people. So does murder," Batman answered bitterly. "Is anyone inside?"

Superman shook his head. "No. Unless they're hidden in a lead bunker, I can't find any signs of life, just… bones."

Batman nodded. It meant there were dead bodies inside.

Clark had no trouble finding the entrance and opening the twisted, metal door. Their small team, consisting of Batman, Superman, and the Flash, entered the desolate building in silence. Batman noticed the signs of a struggle and the charred remains of several humans.

"Whoever worked here was murdered and burned to a crisp to prevent recognition," the Dark Knight said, inspecting the human remains and searching for viable bones for DNA identification. "Whatever they were doing, someone didn't want the world to find out."

"They killed them once they were of no further use. How much you wanna bet these are the missing scientists?" Barry asked, staring sadly at the bodies.

"What were they working on that was so secretive? And how was Dr. Robb involved? You think he was the one behind this?" Superman asked.

Batman shook his head. "Robb didn't have the resources to build this. My guess is that he was either released or escaped his colleagues' fate."

The Flash checked the building, though with considerable difficulty due to its bad shape. They found thousands of bodies, destroyed labs and burnt documents. Through careful observation, Batman realized they had been conducting human experiments.

 _It is possible that Robb discovered the way to bring back the dead from this place,_  Bruce thought gloomily.

"Batman! Over Here!" Flash cried out, pointing towards another broken computer. "This one is in better shape than the others. Can you find something?"

Silently, the Dark Knight pulled a USB connector cable and used the holographic computer in his gloves. His lips twitched with a small grin when he realized that the contents on that computer were mostly intact, thus downloading them into his own. The security was really good, which took him almost two minutes to crack. Soon, Batman was searching through the files until he found something that made him frown.

"They called this Project Lazarus," he explained his teammates. "Apparently, they were using a new component to bring viable dead bodies back to life and reveal the secret of immortality to those who were deemed worthy."

Superman glared at this friend's computer. "Worthy? What does that mean? Who were they trying to bring back to life?"

"Warriors. From the list I found, they had a huge collection of dead soldiers, warriors, and assassins. They have files on their 'Life Data' and 'Rebirth Data'. From what I see, the results were disappointing."

"What do you mean?" the Flash asked.

"Their objective was to use the formula they created, called the Lazarus Formula, to bring these people back to what they were in their prime. All they got were human vegetables, who were as useful as they were in death."

Clark sighed and looked around at the broken pods and the bones inside. "They got rid of the 'failures' as well."

"At least we know were Dr. Zombie got his Frankenstein juice," the Flash remarked, staring back at Batman's holographic screen before his eyes widened in confusion. "Wait… what is that file? The one on the far right? Why isn't it with the rest of the other files?"

Batman followed the Flash's finger and clicked on the file, whose data immediately caught his attention.

_**Lazarus Project, Subject #2620** _

_**Gender: Male** _

_**Age: 15** _

_**Success Rate: 89%** _

_**Status: Alive** _

"Wait.  _'Alive'_? They did it?" the Flash asked, his blue eyes wide with shock and a little fear. "They brought someone back from the dead?"

"Since they were aiming for the 100%, he wasn't exactly a success," Batman answered, reading subject #2620 'Rebirth Data'. "According to the reports, the subject had severe brain damage from his pre-mortem injuries, along with several broken bones. He was able to talk, but his communication skills were severely impaired."

Superman's kind blue eyes shone with pity. "He was just fifteen… poor kid. How come all those adult warriors remained vegetables while this kid managed to get well enough to talk again?"

"They changed the formula once they realized he was showing results. The rest is pure luck, biology or some other reason," Batman explained, sounding as detached as ever.

"You think they killed him again? Even with those results?" Flash asked.

"Probably. They  _were_  aiming for perfection," Batman answered. "They had no use for a brain-damaged teen."

In response, Clark's hand slashed a pipe in two. "How could they do something like that? Especially to a kid? They were scientists and doctors. Does human life mean nothing to them?"

Batman nodded but remained silent as usual. His own fury inside him. On the other hand, the Flash patted Superman on the back and agreed fiercely with what he said.

"We should see who he was. If he had a family, then… I know I would want my kid to go home. We could find his bones and bring him back," the speedster said, his mind thinking about his energetic nephew whose life had been so tragically cut short.

Batman nodded and clicked on the 'Life Data' file. Then, his whole unemotional expression shattered into absolute shock.

**Jason Peter Todd**

It felt like someone had stolen all the air in his lungs and Bruce couldn't breathe. He heard Clark and Barry saying something, but their voices sounded very distant. At first, he didn't register what the computer was telling him. It was impossible, it couldn't be Jason. Why would be Jason of all people?

**Jason Peter Todd**

**Date of Birth: August 16, 1999**

**Death: April 27, 2014**

When it started to finally sink in, Bruce began to gasp. His blue eyes wide, his face pale and sweaty. He was hyperventilating, but he couldn't stop it. It felt like the ground had been taken away from his feet.

**Age: 14 years and 8 months old**

**Alias: Robin**

" _Robin?_  The kid is… was…" the Flash said, staring in shock at both the screen and Batman.

"Oh, my God. Batman? Batman, are you alright?" Clark asked, grabbing his friend's shoulders. "Just breathe… try to breathe slowly…"

**Cause of Death: Multiple Severe Trauma (Murdered)**

**Murderer: Joker**

_No..._

Batman broke free from Superman's hold and dashed towards the broken elevator and sub-level twenty where #2620's pod was supposed to be. Where Jason had been, when he should be resting in peace at home.

_No. No. No._

Batman kicked the elevator's door open and ran down the destroyed lab, barely glancing at the corpses inside the pods. He wasn't ready to see it. He didn't want to see Jason's bones, but he had to know. He had to.

However, when he got to #2620's pod, he found it intact and without a body inside. The whole area around looked preserved like no one had tried to destroy it.

"Batman… what…?" Superman looked around, also surprised by the lack of corpses and destruction. The Flash's reaction mirrored his own.

Batman turned around and started running towards the elevator again, his teammates following him with a careful distance.

"Let's go back to Gotham. The cemetery," he said without looking back. "I need to see for myself."

No one dared to contradict him.

* * *

**Gotham**

**November 17, 21:51**

They left the Batwing floating over the city's cemetery and followed the distraught Batman through the graves.

Jason's grave looked undisturbed, but Bruce wouldn't be able to notice small changes. He only visited the grave twice a year, on Jason's birthday and death day. If someone wanted to steal his body, it would be ridiculously easy… Bruce didn't even put sensors in the coffin.

He should have been more careful. He should have protected him. Why couldn't he protect him? Why did he keep failing him?

"Superman, use your X-Ray vision," Batman ordered, without turning around. Superman nodded and his eyes shone for a few seconds before he lowered his head sadly. "Well? He is there?"

"Batman…"

"IS HE THERE?!"

Barry cringed uncomfortably, while Clark merely stared at Batman's back.

"I don't see any bones there, just the coffin. I'm sorry."

Batman's hands started shaking and his eyes burned. Suddenly, he started digging the grave with his hands.

"Batman!" the Flash cried out, but the Dark Knight ignored him, focusing on the work at hand, trying not to think of the file he read, trying not to remember his last angry words with Jason, the way he looked so angry and sad when he told him he shouldn't have been Robin. The blast from the explosion, holding the dead body his adopted son in his arms… No matter how much he tried not to remember, the more vivid those memories became.

He barely noticed when Clark joined him and their fingers finally hit the coffin. Bruce stood there, frozen as Superman opened the coffin and he confirmed what he had denied since he read the file.

The coffin was empty. Jason wasn't there. He hadn't been there for a long time.

 _They took him… they took him away from me_ , Bruce thought.

Superman tried to reach out for Batman, but the latter turned around and vanished into the dark night. Clark didn't need to use his super powers to know that he was crying.

 

 


	7. Family Issues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thank you so much for being so supportive. Lack of inspiration is bad enough, but having no free time is the worst. Believe me I would be updating a lot more often if I had more time.
> 
> I even have to work during Christmas vacation :( Damn it college!
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

**The Watchtower**

**November 17, 22:08**

Barry and Clark arrived at the Watchtower feeling drained and uneasy. As soon as they stepped out of the Zeta-Beam they were surrounded by their teammates, obviously worried because they had asked them not to contact them or Batman until they got there.

"Hey, what's with the secrecy?" Bart asked, staring at Barry with a smile that vanished as soon as he noticed the look on his grandfather's face. "Did something happen?"

Flash and Superman stared at each other in silence.

"Where's Batman?" Nightwing asked, walking towards them.

"Batman is not injured. Don't worry," Clark answered.

"What do you mean? Was there a fight?" Robin asked.

"No. There was no fight," Clark shared another glance with Barry before facing Nightwing, Robin, and Batgirl. "Do you guys mind if we talk in private?"

Nightwing's eyes widened but he nodded solemnly before following Superman into another room that was conveniently soundproofed.

"What happened?" Barbara asked as soon as they closed the door. "Where is Batman?"

"He probably went back to the Bat Cave, or maybe the Manor. I'm not sure." Clark told them.

"You're not sure?" Robin asked. "He didn't tell you where he went?"

"He was… upset," Clark saw the shock on the teenagers' faces. They had a reason to be concerned. Batman was rational and detached, he thought with his head at all times. Batman didn't get upset unless there was a very serious reason. "I think you should sit down."

None of them did. Nightwing crossed his arms over his chest. "Please tell us what happened."

Clark stared back at Dick and told them of their journey to Antarctica, the underground facility, the dead bodies and the experiences to bring back the dead. They listened to his words attentively, their expressions changing from neutral to mildly disturbed, but that was nothing compared to what he had to reveal.

"We found a name in the database. Someone we knew."

Tim looked at Dick, whose lips had turned white with tension. "Who?"

"Dick… Maybe you should…"

"No. Please, Mr. Kent. Who did you find?"

Clark took a deep breath. "Jason Todd."

Dick's arms dropped, his body petrified with shock. Tim's mouth dropped, and Barbara covered her face with her hands.

"Jason? They had Jason?" Barbara asked, moving closer to Dick and placing a hand on his stiff shoulder.

Clark nodded.

"Are you sure it was him? It could have been someone else with the same name?" Tim asked.

"We checked. The data was about a Jason who was a former Robin, who was killed by the Joker. His age and… the date of death was also a match," Clark's blue eyes were filled with sadness. "I'm so sorry."

Dick imagined Jason's decayed body being brought back to life and fighting brainlessly like the zombies they had fought. He felt sick.

How could someone do something like this? How could they tarnish the body of someone they loved like he was nothing?

How could he have allowed them to take him in the first place?

"Did… did you find him? Did Bruce bring him back?" Dick finally spoke, his fists shaking no matter how much Barbara tried to sooth him.

"We couldn't find him. All the other bodies were kept in pods, but his pod  was empty. He wasn't in the facility."

"What do you mean? He has to be! You just said they burned all the others!" Dick cried out.

"There's another thing…" Clark went on. "According to the data, Jason's experiments were a lot more successful than with the others. His success rate was 89%."

The kids' eyes widened, but it was Tim who was able to think more clearly and make questions. "What does that mean?"

"I'm saying that according to the data, Jason was successfully resurrected."

Dick's mouth dropped and he walked towards Superman. "Resurrected? Jason is… alive? Is he alive?"

"Dick, I'm not sure. They were trying to bring someone back from the dead in their prime and Jason… according to the data, he wasn't perfect. He was damaged."

"Damaged?" Barbara asked. "How damaged?"

"Probably brain-damaged… it said he could barely speak or understand what they told him."

"But he was alive, right?" Dick asked, torn between sadness and joy.

"Dick…"

"It doesn't matter if he's sick. It's still Jason. We can… we can look after him. It doesn't matter."

"Dick, be reasonable. We don't even know if he's still alive," Barbara intervened, worried that in his happiness, Dick would only hurt himself later. "We need to be realistic. They wouldn't want to keep a brain-damaged kid. It's possible that he was killed somewhere else."

Dick closed his fists and faced Batgirl. "It's also possible that they kept him since he was the only one who made it. Mr. Kent just said that his pod was empty."

"That doesn't mean he's alive. And even if he is, you saw what Dr. Robb did to those soldiers today. Jason could be a part of his army. He could be using him."

"Only one way to find out," Dick said, finally leaving the room.

* * *

**Gotham**

**November 17, 22:40**

Bruce had broken a locker and nearly his hands by punching it. His fingers hurt like crazy and looked like a bloody mess, but it still wasn't enough.

It didn't change what he had seen and heard. It didn't change the data that was now stored on his portable computer.

It didn't change what had been done to Jason.

After cleaning the blood and bandaging his hands, Bruce sat in front of his main computer and downloaded all the information. He tried to remain as detached as he could while reading the data on Jason, but that task was becoming more futile at each sentence.

In the last two years, Bruce had done everything in his power to remove Jason Todd from his mind. His room was empty and locked; all his belongings had been given away or destroyed, including every single photograph. If he pretended that Jason had never existed, he wouldn't feel the stabbing pain of his death driving him insane with guilt and grief. As long as he tried to keep himself busy, he wouldn't feel the void Jason left in his life.

But Jason was missing and he could never forget it or allow it to ever happen again. That was the reason he had kept the glass case with his uniform in the cave, the only existing proof that boy had been a part of their lives aside from the data he had hidden on his computer.

 _Stop thinking. Search for answers,_  he thought.  _Regretting_   _is not going to change a thing. Don't think of him as Jason. He's not the Jason I knew anymore. That's his body, that's subject #2620._

And so, Bruce kept working. He was trying so hard to be objective, that he didn't even notice Alfred coming down the stairs with a worried expression on his face.

After a few minutes of reading, Bruce found hidden videos on the Lazarus Project. Some of the data were missing, but he was able to make them work again. It was with a feeling of dread that he pressed play on the first video on subject #2620.

His heart stopped as soon as he saw Jason.

The boy was strapped to chair, wearing nothing but a white hospital gown. He looked too thin and his skin was almost as pale as his clothing except for the obvious injuries on his face, arms, and legs. He also looked to be in a lot of pain.

" _ **This is Dr. Edward Robb on the first recording of subject #2620. Three days after injecting the Lazarus formula, the subject is finally showing signs of understandable speech. However, other required parameters remain disappointing, such as the subject attempts of escape."**_

Robb walked towards Jason and forced his head to face his. The boy's eyes were red and glassy and his lips were trembling.

" _ **What is your name?"**_  Robb asked coldly. Jason tried to move, but the doctor held him in his place.  _ **"Answer the question: what is your name?"**_

" _ **It… hurts…"**_  Jason whispered weakly, sounding lost and confused.

" _ **Doctor? Should we give him a painkiller?"**_  an unseen female voice asked.

" _ **No. It could affect the results. Besides, he won't die from the pain. Tell me your name."**_

" _ **Hurts…"**_

" _ **I told you to tell me your name!"**_

" _ **Where…?"**_

" _ **It doesn't matter where you are now. I'm asking your name."**_

" _ **Bruce…"**_

Bruce stood up from his chair, which fell hard on the ground. His blue eyes glued to the screen.

" _ **That's not your name. Tell me your name."**_

Jason began to shake even more and a single tear ran down his pale cheeks.

" _ **It… hurts, Bruce… Hurts…"**_

Robb kept trying to make Jason talk, but the boy was too distressed and in too much pain. Finally, the doctor gave up.

" _ **This was a complete waste of time. Put the subject back in his pod, we will try it again later."**_

Two men showed up in the video, finally untying Jason who just fell flat on the ground.

" _ **Bruce…"**_

Dr. Robb approached the camera to turn it off, but not before the video zoomed on Jason's trembling body, being grabbed by the other two men.

" _ **Sorry…"**_

The video turned to black at the same time Bruce punched the keyboard and fell on his knees. He kept punching the ground until he couldn't feel his hands, his vision blurring with his tears.

Slowly, Alfred walked towards his master, kneeled beside him and hugged him as his own tears fell.

"I failed him," Bruce whimpered. "I failed him again. I couldn't keep him safe, not even in death."

"Master Bruce…"

"Don't! Don't say it wasn't my fault! I brought him here, I made him Robin and I got him killed. None of this would have happened if I didn't bring into this life."

"Then he would be also dead, shot or stabbed in a dark corner of Crime Alley," Alfred told him. "You gave Master Jason a home, a family. You loved him, we all did. He is ours."

"But he still died broken and alone and now… what have they done to him? Why can't he just be in peace? Why couldn't I save him?"

Alfred hugged Bruce harder.

"He was calling me, Alfred," Bruce said. "He was hurt and scared and he was calling me, but I never came."

"Then it's time to go to him now," the old butler answered, staring at Jason's glass case. "We need to bring him home."

* * *

A few minutes later, Dick, Tim, and Barbara arrived at the Manor and walked straight to the Bat cave. By now, Bruce was completely composed and every trace of his fury had been cleaned up by Alfred.

"Bruce," Dick called, though his mentor didn't move from his computer. "We need to talk."

"I assume Superman already told you what happened," Bruce answered flatly, finally turning to face them. "If you don't have any more questions, I'm busy."

Dick took off his mask and glared at his adopted father. "How could you say that? Jason is back! He could be alive!"

"You're being too emotional. The only thing we know is that they had Jason's body on that facility. He could either be dead again or just another pawn of Dr. Robb, that doesn't mean that he's back."

"What are you saying, Bruce?" Dick asked angrily.

"I'm saying that even if he is alive he could be no more than one of the zombies we fought today and we should act accordingly."

Dick's eyes widened in disbelief. He knew Bruce was cold, but this…

"So we only have to kill him again… Just like that. Are even hearing yourself?"

Bruce stood up and walked towards his first partner. "I'm thinking clearly, unlike you. If Jason is a zombie that would make him no different from the ones we fought."

"No different? This is  _Jason_  we're talking about, Bruce! Not some stranger we never met!"

"Exactly. He was my partner and a good soldier, which is why the only way to respect his death is to stop this maniac from using his body as a tool."

"He was more than a soldier! He was my brother and you'd rather save his corpse than allowing yourself to think that he could be alive!"

Tim tried to intervene, but Barbara grabbed his arm and shook her head. All they could do was listen nervously as Dick and Bruce screamed at each other, venting the grief and frustration they had kept locked up since Jason's death.

"Don't you dare to say you know how I feel!" Bruce cried out, his face inches closer to Dick's. "You don't know how I felt about Jason! You have no right to accuse me of anything when you never thought of him as a brother until he died! Where was your concern for him when you kicked him out of the team? You never accepted him as your replacement!"

Dick staggered like he had been slapped. He had to admit that he had given Jason the cold shoulder most of their time together and there was always a part of him that resented him for taking the Robin title while he and Bruce were having a fight. He always wondered what would have happened if he had been more caring, more understanding and treated him as a little brother. If he had, maybe Jason wouldn't have felt the need to run away to find his mother without telling anyone.

He knew there were a lot of things he shouldn't have done with Jason, but hearing Bruce saying it made it all worse because that man was also to blame.

"What about you? What about all the things you said to him?"

" _Don't you dare, Dick!_  You don't know anything!" Bruce screamed, his hand up in the air, ready to slap Nightwing, before closing it and turning his back. "This conversation is over. Leave, I'm working."

Shaking with rage, Dick turned around and left the cave and the manor. Tim wanted to go after him, but Barbara stopped him by the door.

"Please, Tim… I think we should give Dick some privacy. I'll look after him from afar to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Then let me go with you!" Tim pleaded.

"Thank you, but I think I can take care of it," Barbara grabbed his shoulders with a weak smile. "Don't worry."

As he saw Barbara walk away, Tim couldn't help but feel useless and left out. Out of all of them, he had never met Jason Todd, so his death and possible resurrection didn't have the same impact on him as it did on them. Still, Jason was the reason Tim had become Robin in the first place. He was involved and, maybe, being the only one who didn't know Jason personally would give him the objective angle they needed to solve his mystery.

Knowing that Bruce would be searching the data all night, Tim went back to the Watchtower where he could work on one of the computers undisturbed. Even if he didn't have all the data Batman recovered from the Lazarus Project, he could try to find some answers on his own.

At first, his findings were disappointing. The company funding the construction of the underground facility was a ghost company, he tried to follow the money trail but it led to nothing, just as with Dr. Robb. He obviously wasn't stupid and had changed everything from credit cards to ID.

Tim was about to search for his fake ID when something caught his attention: the computer was working slightly slower than usual.

"Could it be…? Computer, search for any other activities!"

Sure enough, Tim found there was a small virus in the computer copying all the recent information on the day's events and their findings on the Lazarus Project. Before he could stop it, the hacker stopped and Tim could only pray that he had managed to locate the source of the hacking and get a visual confirmation.

Sure enough, he was able to find the hacker in Hong Kong. A few seconds later, he was using a surveillance camera showing a dark staircase and a dark figure climbing up the stairs to a roof.

It was the Red Hood.

Tim gasped. That was the first time they had been able to find the Red Hood after he hacked one of their computers and now he knew exactly where he was and where he was going. If he didn't hurry, he would lose him again.

Why would the Red Hood care about their Intel on the Lazarus Project? Did know something about it? Was he involved or was he going to deliver his brand of justice on Dr. Robb?

Whatever the reason, Tim couldn't let him escape. He was about to call Captain Atom and the others when he realized that by the time he got everyone and elaborated a plan, the Red Hood would be gone again, like always.

He knew he shouldn't, he knew he was going against everything Batman and Nightwing had ever taught him, but he didn't have a choice this time. He would contact the League and the Team as soon as he could, but now this was the only chance of finally catching the Red Hood.

Glancing at Jason's hologram, Tim ran towards the Zeta-Beam. For once, he was acting before too much deliberation, just like his predecessor.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Robin vs. Red Hood. It's finally happening. Can they put their differences aside or punch each other senseless?
> 
> I hope you liked it!


	8. Red Hood vs. Robin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! I'm sorry for not being able to update sooner. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

**Hong Kong**

**November 18, 06:40**

It had been a while since Jason had traveled by airplane and, honestly, it made him appreciate how much faster and practical their ship was. Man, he hated jet lag.

 _It's no use whining about it now,_  the raven haired teen thought.  _The ship needs repairs and Roy would probably kill me if I took it during the "checkup"._

Jason had to admit that he was impressed with Roy's sudden interest in electronics. At first, he thought the archer was only trying to impress Kori by trying to learn all there was to know about Tamaranian's tech, but it had become a passion for him. As a former Robin, Jason knew more about technology than your average sidekick, but Roy was becoming even better than him.

 _But neither of you are as good as Nightwing,_  an insecure, hateful part of himself thought despite all of his efforts to keep it quiet.  _No matter how much you try, you'll never be as good as Nightwing. Even the Replacement is better than you."_

Jason bit his lip and closed his hands into fists, using the pain to calm himself. A year ago he wouldn't have been able to do it; he would have started punching something or someone to stop those thoughts. Not now, not anymore. He wasn't going to allow it.

 _I'm not going to fall apart. I'm not going to fall apart._ Jason chanted the words in his mind, forcing himself to keep his composure.  _Just breathe slowly. You got this. Just a bit more._

He didn't know how much the Lazarus pit had changed him, but he realized it had made him a lot more violent than he used to be. He went to sleep angry and woke up even angrier. All of a sudden, his mind would be filled with negative thoughts about himself, the Joker, Batman, Dick, the Replacement and everyone around him. He called it  _'the_   _hate storm'_.

For awhile, the hate and anger had been welcome, because they would be so powerful that it would prevent him from feeling anything else. But the anger often blinded him and made him lose control of himself. By the time  _'the hate storm'_  dissipated from his mind, Jason would realize he had murdered a lot more goons without even being aware of his actions.

He was scared of this part of himself, the part that didn't know what he was doing because he was so blinded by rage. It didn't make him any different from a vicious beast, which was why he decided he was going to control it.

Fortunately, it seemed that the effects of the pit were fading. He didn't enjoy murder as much as he used to. It was still there, the anger, the hatred, but he learned how to control them instead of letting them control him, even if he still used them to protect himself from despair and self-pity.

He'd rather feel angry than pathetic and sad.

Feeling his head lighter, Jason stared at his watch. It had taken him twenty seconds to calm down. Not bad, but he had to do better. He wanted to be in control, completely lucid, so he could finally complete his mission.

His resurrection had been just that, a mission. He had never asked to be brought back from the dead. He didn't want this dark miracle, but he was alive now and the only thing that could keep him sane was having a clear goal.

Red Hood was created to avenge Jason Todd and all the previous and future victims of the Joker. He was going to find the clown and send that pile of garbage to hell. Batman's greatest failure was going to do what his mentor couldn't and show him and his  _"family"_  what he thought of them now that he knew how they truly felt about his pitiful existence.

Then, after completing his mission, Jason Todd would leave the world of the living once and for all.

He didn't want to live, not anymore. It wasn't worth living in a world where all that expected him was rejection and sorrow. His life didn't mean anything, not to his parents, not to Bruce and especially not to himself.

He felt a pang of guilt and sadness when Roy and Kori's smiling faces crossed his mind. During the short time they had been together, Jason finally understood what was like to have best friends. That was why he couldn't tell them that he planned to die because they would most likely try to stop him. He could only hope that they would forgive him.

Right now, Jason was going to enjoy his borrowed time with his friends, pay his debts and focus on the next part of his mission: stopping the megalomaniac that had brought him back to life.

After finally landing in Hong Kong, he didn't waste a lot of time on the airport and quickly caught a cab. He looked like an average teenager without a care in the world, just another tourist.

His appearance had been completely changed, brown contact lenses, blond wig, and huge glasses made the trick. He doubted the League would find and recognize him, but one could never be too careful. Still, he thought it was a bit ironic that he was wearing a  _Friday the 13_ _th_  black shirt with  _"Jason Lives"_  printed in huge bright red letters. A birthday gift from Arsenal that he promised he would wear someday.

_I'm keeping my promises, Harper. But don't expect me to wear the "You Only Live Twice" shirt anytime soon…_

After paying the cab driver, Jason walked slowly towards a very average looking apartment building. All the stuff he needed was already in the apartment he kept as a safe house, which included money, uniforms, tech and lots of weapons.

Batman had told him incessantly of the importance of being prepared at all times, a lesson Jason had taken very seriously. He had safe houses all around the world and money to buy the equipment he needed, courtesy of the mobs he had finished off. The rest of the cash he donated to charity. Those people deserved a future, he didn't.

After removing his disguise, the raven teen opened laptop only to find that the Justice League already had new info on Dr. Robb.

"Good old League, working fast as usual."

Since it was too risky to hack their computer from his safe house, Jason geared up, put on his helmet and left through a window. The Red Hood jumped from roof to roof until he stopped, choosing a comfortable space between two chimneys of a restaurant.

As usual, hacking the League's computer wasn't easy, but he had gained additional skills during his  _post-mortem_  training. In minutes, he managed to download all the data they had on Dr. Robb. However, as he read the files, Jason was surprised to find out that Batman, Superman, and the Flash had already found the lab on Antarctica, knew Project Lazarus and the formula. Honestly, the Red Hood was impressed. Batman was very good. He was pretty certain that the computers on the bunker had all been destroyed… Man, Talia was gonna be pissed.

 _They don't mention anything about the Lazarus Pit or Ra's Al Ghul, which probably means that they don't know they're connected yet._ Jason thought, reading the files as quickly and as fast as he downloaded them.  _They also don't mention anything about me, but if they were able to get this much data, they probably found out about subject #2620 as well._

The Red Hood wished he could take off his helmet and rub his eyes. He didn't want to, but he wondered how Batman would have reacted upon finding out that his dead ward had been brought back to life as a defective zombie. Had he been nervous? Sad? Happy? No, definitely not happy. Bruce would be furious upon realizing that someone had been smart enough to steal his ward's corpse right under his nose. Knowing that he had been resurrected but was mentally impaired would probably horrify him.

 _What's the point of wondering how he felt?_  Jason thought.  _All the corpses were incinerated, there's no reason for him to think that I was spared. Even if he believes that I was saved because the damn formula worked on me, he's going to assume that I'm part of Robb's zombie army now. He has no idea that Talia saved me on a whim or that she would go as far as to toss me on Ra's Lazarus Pit. This data doesn't change the plan and I have no intention of revealing myself until the time is right. This doesn't change_ _ **anything**_ _._

Because he was so focused on his thoughts, Red Hood only realized that he was being tracked by someone on the Tower when it was too late.

"Crap!"

Working as fast as he could, the Red Hood downloaded the data into the computer on his glove while simultaneously sending a copy to Arsenal before finally blowing up his computer.

He knew he had been caught. The League had eyes on him already and would probably show up at any moment. Stupid. He had been careless and stupid for allowing his emotions get the better of him. Now all he could do was run and lay low for while and then follow the clue that had brought him to Hong Kong in the first place.

Red Hood had run for a while before jumping to a dark alley. His safe house was in another direction and he couldn't take the risk of leading the League there. He needed a good place to hide from the satellites and human eyes.

It was the familiar hiss of a shuriken that finally forced him to hide behind a dumpster and pull his guns. His green-blue eyes narrowed when he recognized them as birdarangs and then bulged in surprise when a fighting staff collided with his Glock. Red Hood felt his whole body tense as he looked at the domino mask of the new Robin.

For the first time since he had seen him through a window, Jason was finally facing his successor.

Robin and Red Hood swiftly moved away, pointing their respective weapons at each other. The first emotion the Red Hood felt was an intense aversion towards the kid. This was the guy who had taken his place merely six months after his death, the new and better Robin that Batman had chosen as a more suitable replacement.

This was the Robin that was so much better than him, the failure that was better dead and forgotten.

"Well, if it isn't the baby bird. About time we finally meet," Red Hood said mockingly while searching for the other members of the League and the Team.

"I wish I could say the same thing," Robin said, his stance ready to attack or defend himself.

"You wound me, little Robin," Red Hood was still waiting for the other members to show up. Either they were hidden or this was a trap. "Where are your friends? Don't tell me you came all the way here to play with me alone." Robin's face remained neutral but there was a small twitch on his lower lip that made Red Hood blink. "No way… You seriously didn't come alone, did you?"

"Don't worry. I'll be more than enough," the younger teen answered.

Red Hood burst into laughter.

"What's so funny? You think I can't beat you?" Robin asked, obviously annoyed at the laugher.

"Wow! You've really left me speechless, baby bird. I've got guts, I'll give you that much. But you're either cocky or incredibly stupid," Red Hood started shooting. He wasn't surprised when the kid managed to evade the bullets. "Not bad."

"I'm just getting started!" Robin jumped gracefully towards him, his electric charged staff ready to knock the Red Hood out.

Though a part of him was seething, a petty, dark part that Jason wasn't proud of, he felt a sudden urge to fight the new Robin. He wanted to fight him and see how good this kid was.

_How special are you? Show me how good you are! Show me why he chose you over me._

When Robin was too close to him, the Red Hood chose to put away his guns and started fighting with his fists and legs.

Reluctantly, Jason admitted that replacement was pretty good. His stance was perfect, his moves were precise and strong for his small build, his strategy was top notch. Batman and Nightwing had trained him well.

Jason had observed enough. It really seemed that the little bird had come alone to face the big, bad Red Hood. It was time he gave his replacement exactly what he was looking for.

"The gloves are off. Let's see how you much can fly, baby bird!" the older vigilante said before finally starting to fight seriously.

* * *

After blocking another punch, Robin began to doubt his decision to come alone. The Red Hood was strong and a lot better than he or Nightwing had anticipated since they had never seen him fight.

At first, Tim thought he had nothing to worry about, that Red Hood was nothing but a thug with a gun and that it shouldn't take long to immobilize him. That is until he realized the older vigilante had been toying with him all along.

Red Hood was strong, fast and completely ruthless. His fighting style was amazing and his hits were extremely precise. Tim also seemed to be unable to break his defense, no matter how much he tried to land a hit with his staff, Red Hood would always move or block him.

Robin had never felt this tired since his training days with Nightwing or Batman. Now that he thought about it, Red Hood's fighting style was almost identical to his mentor and predecessor. Where the hell had he learned to fight like this?

_Focus, Tim._

They had been fighting for a while now. The sun was high and the streets were starting to buzz with sounds of people. Tim had to be quick before someone saw them. Or before the Red Hood decided to kill a witness.

"Are you tired yet, baby bird?" Red Hood mocked. Tim knew he was grinning behind that red helmet and that stupid nickname was starting to annoy him.

"Worry about yourself!" but the truth was that Tim was reaching his limits. His muscles were aching and sore, he felt drops of sweat rolling down his face. He knew he couldn't fight much longer, so he decided to end it now.

Robin dropped a smoke bomb, hid in the darkness and placed his rebreather on his face, he knew he didn't have much time. As soon as the Red Hood was near, Robin kicked him right in the knees forcing the older vigilante to kneel. That was what chance he had waited for, so he quickly hit him with staff right in the chest and gave him a shock of 60.000 volts.

Red Hood stiffened and groaned with pain before falling face down on the concrete. It was over.

Robin removed the rebreather, wiped the sweat from his forehead and slowly walked towards the fallen man who remained still. He was about to call the league when he noticed the smell.

"Stun gas! Damn it!" Robin muttered as his muscles became paralyzed and his legs gave in. He didn't have time to put back his rebreather.

"Nice try with the staff, it would have worked it wasn't for my suit," to Robin's horror, Red Hood calmly stood up, completely unharmed and holding the small stun bomb in his left hand.

Robin's head was spinning and he fell on his back, his eyes fixed on Red Hood's imposing figure who was slowly walking towards him. He tried to move, to yell, but it useless. He was completely paralyzed and soon he was going to lose consciousness as well.

_What have I done?_

Red Hood stopped right beside him and stared at his face. Tim could feel his glare through the helmet, even if he couldn't see his eyes. Then, he stepped on his chest and pointed his gun right at Tim's head.

"I could kill you," Red Hood muttered, each world filled with more hatred than the other. "It would be so easy to kill you."

Red Hood wasn't toying with him anymore. He was dead serious and he honestly, viscerally, hated him.

Robin couldn't breathe; panic was taking a hold of him. This was it. He was going to die here at the hand of a murderer because of his own stupidity because he had underestimated an enemy. Everything Batman and Nightwing had taught had been for nothing.

_I'm sorry, Bruce… Dick…_

Tim couldn't help but close his eyes when he heard he gunshot. However, the pain he expected never came. Instead, the Red Hood pulled his foot off his chest and cursed.

"Fuck! Fuck this!"

Tim glanced to his right, where the bullet was smashed into the floor. Hesitantly, he looked up and stared at the furious Red Hood as he kicked a trash can against a wall.

_Why didn't he kill me?_

After destroying the trash can, the Red Hood placed both hands on the wall and took a long, deep breath. Now that Tim was looking at him, he realized he wasn't very big or tall, he didn't even sound that much older than Tim was. Was it possible that the Red Hood, one of the most feared vigilantes in the world, was actually a teenager?

_Who are you?_

"RED HOOD!" a male voice yelled. Robin's vision wasn't the best at the moment, but he could see and hear the increasing number of men that were surrounding them.

Red Hood, now composed as ever, pulled his other gun. "Oh great!"

"You fucker! How dare you come back? You killed our boss,  _Húndàn!"_

Tim's Chinese wasn't perfect, but he knew understood the word  _"bastard"_. This was bad. These men were from the Chinese mob.

"Shing! It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Red Hood bantered, seemingly unaffected by the sight of thirty armed men out for blood. "You have to be more specific, though. I believe I killed two of your bosses."

Shing cried out and his men charged at them. Robin's eyes met with Red Hood's. For a moment, it seemed that he was going to ignore him and fight the mobsters before he sighed and swiftly grabbed Robin and tossed him on his back.

Tim tried to stay awake a bit longer, but he finally lost consciousness to the sound of angry shouts and gunshots.

* * *

"Dammit! Goddamnit! _Now_ , what am I gonna do?"

Jason glanced at the sleeping face of his replacement, still refusing to believe what had happened. He had almost killed him, he had been so close.

That wasn't what he wanted. Beat the living shit out him? Yes. Scare the crap out of him? Absolutely. Kill him? No. No matter how much he hated this kid, even Jason had to admit it wasn't his fault for replacing him. He had not done anything wrong.

He couldn't kill him and he couldn't just leave him at the mobsters' mercy. So, Jason had brought him to an abandoned building.

"Well, first things first. I've got to keep you off the grid."

Unfazed, Jason opened the younger boy's mouth and grabbed a tiny jammer. After looking at the kid's white teeth, he finally found Batman's tracker chip on his molar and destroyed it.

"Humm!" the kid groaned with pain as Jason took his hands out of his mouth.

"I like this as much as you do, baby bird," he said, looking at the sleepy blue eyes. "Time to wake up, sunshine."

Robin's eyes quickly changed from confused to terrified as he realized that he was strapped to a chair and alone with Red Hood in an unknown house. When he finally noticed the mirror in front of him and that he wasn't wearing his domino mask, he seriously started to freak out.

"What are you doing?!" he yelled, trying to break free from the chains only to realize that his gloves and shoes were also missing. "What did you with my clothes?"

"I took them and the toys you need to get rid of those chains for the time being. Now stand still and quiet."

As soon as Jason touched Robin's thigh, the boy screamed and tried to move away, almost falling to the ground if Jason hadn't caught him.

"For Christ's sake, kid! Who do you take me for? A creep? Relax, you're definitely not my type."

Robin's eyes followed the Red Hood's hand as he touched his thigh again. "What are you doing?"

Jason ignored him as he found what he was looking for. "Bingo!"

Before Robin could say anything, Jason made a cut on the boy's uniform and removed the second tracker.

"How did you know I had that?" Robin asked, confused and uneasy.

"I know a lot of things," he answered, crushing the tracker before Robin's terrified eyes. "Now Bats doesn't know where his precious bird is."

Robin glared at the older teen. "If you think that's gonna stop them from finding me…"

"I don't. I know they can trace you back to this place, which is why we won't be here when they realize you're missing, Mr. Drake."

Jason had to admit that he was quite pleased with Robin's shocked expression. "What are you talking about?"

"Would you prefer if I used your whole name? Timothy Jackson Drake?"

The kid's pupils became very small dots. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Sure you do," Red Hood went on. "I gotta admit you're pretty good at lying, but your body language needs a little work. You should let Bruce know."

Robin became stiff and his face even paler from shock. Slowly he pulled himself together and his blue eyes pierced Jason's helmet with an intense gaze.

"Who?"

Jason smiled under his hood. So the kid was trying to protect Batman. It was sweet, really. Useless but sweet.

"Oh, you know… Bruce Wayne, the richest douche in Gotham. Likes to dress up as a bat and beat up criminals. Has this giant cave under his mansion. I'm sure you know all that."

Robin rolled his eyes.

"You're crazy. If you really think Bruce Wayne would waste his money playing vigilante, then you really need help."

Jason shrugged. "Whatever. You can deny it as much as you want that it won't be any less true, baby bird."

Robin glared at Jason again. He didn't like the nickname. Perfect.

"What are you going to do with me?" the boy finally demanded to know. "If you kill me…"

"If wanted you dead, you'd be dead already. I could have killed you in that alley," Jason interrupted, forcing the boy to stare at him.

"Why didn't you?"

"I have my reasons," he answered carefully, hating the fact that this kid and seen him break. Never again. "As for my plans for you, I thought about it and I'm going to take you with me."

Robin stared at him with his narrowed eyes. "You're… going to take me with you? What makes you think I would go anywhere with you?"

Red Hood moved closer, their knees touching. "Because I know where Dr. Robb is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fighting scenes are not easy for me to write, I hope it was up to your expectations. If it wasn't, sorry.
> 
> I hope you guys liked it.


	9. Detective Work

**Hong Kong**

**November 18, 14:10**

“This is a huge mistake,” Tim whispered as he followed Red Hood through the dark alleyway.

“What? Having second thoughts, Baby Bird?” the young man’s voice answered through the earpiece he had given him. “It’s a bit late for that.”

Tim frowned. When the Red Hood told him that he had Intel on Dr. Robb that strongly suggested that he had a hideout on Hong Kong, the older vigilante had given him two choices. Option one, he would take Tim with him to the supposed hideout and help or option two, he would knock Tim out again and leave him gagged and tied up in another abandoned place without his gadgets or his uniform and only Red Hood’s word that he would eventually tip the Justice League to his location. Just maybe.

Tim chose the only option that allowed him to stay conscious. However, the Red Hood had already tampered with all of his communication devices, leaving him completely incapable of contacting anyone and telling them where he was.

Bruce and Dick probably knew something was wrong by now and out of their minds, especially now, with Jason possibly alive and missing. They didn’t deserve to have another Robin missing and agonize through all of that again. Tim should have reported all of his findings and get the Team instead of acting on his own, trying to catch the Red Hood all by himself. He had promised not to disappoint Bruce when he asked to let him be Robin, he swore.

He should have never underestimated the Red Hood, not after all the times he had evaded them. If both Batman and Nightwing couldn’t catch him, what made him think he could?

_It was a stupid and reckless move, Drake. Sure, you wanted to catch the Red Hood as quickly as possible, but you also wanted to prove to that **you** could catch him. Now, what are you going to do?_

And so, Tim did what he did best. He calmed down and began to think as he followed the older vigilante through the roofs. He had to join the dots with what he had learned in the last hours if he wanted to survive. Who was the Red Hood? A young man, maybe a teenager, he was fairly certain of that now. He couldn’t be older than twenty based on his voice, his speech patterns, body build and general demeanor.

A young man, outstandingly well-trained on different fighting styles, nearly perfect marksman, well versed on electronics and hacking to be able to cut all of his communications effortlessly. From the data the League had previously collected on him, he was also fluent in different languages and an expert on wielding several types of weapons from firearms to knives and even swords.

Psychologically… he was ruthless, not shying away from torture or murder of the criminals he fought and tracked down. The Red Hood followed a code of his own, he only punished the guilty. In only a few months, the Red Hood had made his name well known and feared on the criminal underworld. If someone knew the Red Hood was on their track, they already knew he was coming for the kill and he had never lost a target. No money, threats or bribes would stop him, he was incorruptible.

Where would a guy like him come from? He had to be trained, rather early and by people quite remarkable as well.

Then there was the name, Red Hood. It was Joker’s old alias. That probably meant a connection to Gotham and the clown, and the city had been the first place the Red Hood stroke, killing several members of the mob and drug lords before taking away their money and threatening to do the same to all the criminals who refused to leave Gotham. After Black Mask’s near death, who was only saved because Batman intervened, many known criminals decided to leave. Even Penguin took a plane and spent a few months in hiding.

Also, based on a few conversations heard by the thugs who managed to survive, the Red Hood despised Batman and everything related to him, which included him, Nightwing and the League. The reason for that hatred was unknown, they all assumed it was because he resented Batman’s unwillingness to kill and believed that he was doing a better job.

And then there was his attitude after he defeated Tim and pointed a gun at his head. There were anger and resentment in his voice. The way he had talked and acted towards Tim, it all seemed personal, very personal. And now he knew the Red Hood knew his real name and Batman’s true identity. If he knew all that, he assumed he also knew about Dick and Barbara, even Alfred and the Manor.

How had he learned all that? Roy? No. Roy didn’t know. Starfire? She knew Dick’s name, would she betray him to Red Hood? It didn’t seem like her, even with their ugly break-up. She would never do something that would put them all in danger. Plus, if he knew who they all were, why didn’t he attack them when they were vulnerable?

“Hey, Baby Bird! Look alive! We’re here,” Red Hood said and motioned towards the glass of the skyscraper. Robin walked carefully towards him and inspected the inside, it looked like a harmless warehouse filled with boxes and only guarded by a few guards.

“This is the hideout?” Robin asked, always eyeing the older boy.

“No. This is just the front entrance. This company doesn’t exist. It was created as a front by someone named June Manson,” the Red Hood answered.

Robin frowned. “June Manson was Robb’s first victim.”

The Red Hood nodded and touched his helmet as his lenses lighted up momentarily. Tim had seen it thousands of times before on patrol. It was the same tech that Batman used to scan a scene for information.

“Five hostiles, all armed. There are more outside the building, but they won’t come inside unless they suspect that something is wrong,” the older teen said. “There’s also a security alarm. The panel is on the far right of that wall.”

Robin followed his pointed finger and saw the panel. He turned on his computer. “I can hack it from here,” he pressed a few buttons under Red Hood’s watchful gaze. “Done. It’s off.”

“Impressive,” the Red Hood said dispassionately.

Tim stared at him. His muscles had tensed and he had looked away. There was anger in there but also… something else. However, the Red Hood’s emotional state could be a liability and Tim didn’t need him angrier or that something else.  

“No killing,” Robin said, his eyes hard as he glared at the lethal vigilante. “I won’t allow it.”

“Really? And how do you intend to do that, Baby Bird?” Tim didn’t need to see his face to know that the Red Hood was smiling.

“I’ll stop you. Even if you try to kill me, I won’t let you kill those men. I’ll make things real difficult for you.”

“Difficult, huh? Now I’m really scared,” the Red Hood tilted his head and stared back at Robin. “Relax, kid. I checked these security guards hours before, they’re all clean. Non-lethal takedowns it is.”

The older teen stuck his dual handguns on their holsters. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to kill, he didn’t need weapons for that, but it was a start.

“Let’s go,” the Red Hood said, standing up and glancing towards a vent.

They both went down the vent and separated inside the warehouse. Robin could hear the Red Hood’s breathing through his earpiece; he was calm and walked as silently as during one of their missions.

 _League of Shadows_ , Tim thought as he opened a crate and walked silently towards an unsuspecting guard. _The League’s assassins could be behind Red Hood’s training, but they never let one of their own go, rogue. Plus, the Red Hood doesn’t seem like their style. Then… who else?_

Tim used his whole weight to swiftly and silently take down a security guard before using his grapple gun to get away. As he looked up he saw the Red Hood hiding behind a box, waving at him and lifting up three fingers.

“I got three, Baby Bird,” he whispered through the ear piece.

“I got one.”

The Red Hood chuckled. “Seems like I’m winning.”

_He’s… competing with me? Seriously?_

“This isn’t a game.”

“Of course not. Man, you’re too serious! I thought dear old Dickybird would have taught you how to sass by now.”

Tim tensed, though he really shouldn’t be surprised that Red Hood knew about Dick at this point. As for the sass thing… that had always been more Dick’s thing and then Jason’s. They both liked to tease and annoy their opponents. Tim, on the other hand, preferred to let his actions speak for themselves.

_Dickybird… Jason used to call Dick that when they trained together._

“Do you want me to finish the last one for you?” the Red Hood asked. “You had a rough day after all.”

In response, Tim quickly fell on top of the last guard and knocked him out. “I can handle myself just fine.”

The Red Hood laughed and crossed his arms over his chest. “So I see, Baby Bird.”

“Can you stop with the ‘Baby Bird’ thing? It’s getting annoying.”

“Nope,” the older teen answered before something caught his eye. “Look out!”

Without thinking, Tim ducked at the same time a bullet hit the box in front of him and he felt the Red Hood’s hands pull him down and throw something at the guard’s head which knocked him out.

“You okay?” the older teen asked.

“Yeah… Thanks.”

The sound of angry voices and footsteps forced them to stand on guard, their backs to each other, assessing their opponents’ numbers and how to defeat them. The Red Hood picked up what he had thrown at the other guard and grabbed another one from his jacket. Tim immediately recognized the electroshock dual sticks, similar to the ones Nightwing used.

“Looks like we lost the element of surprise,” the Red Hood said casually. “Do you think you can handle this many?”

“Like I said, I can handle myself,” Tim answered, his staff already in hand.

The Red Hood chuckled once more. “I’ll take your word for it, Baby Bird!”

They started fighting. At first, Robin eyed the Red Hood constantly to make sure he wasn’t killing anyone, to his relief, he wasn’t. The Red Hood not only had kept his word, but he also seemed perfectly capable of defending himself without murdering his opponents. In next to no time, Robin began to focus solely on fighting.

Soon, the two crime fighters had developed a pattern as they evaded bullets and knocked out guards with Robin’s staff or Red Hood’s sticks. They moved around each other, almost as if they knew what the other was going to do seconds before. No words were needed as they fought. It was as if they had worked together for years.

To Robin, it almost felt as if he was fighting alongside Batman or Nightwing and that thought almost stopped him in his tracks. His blue eyes widened behind the domino mask as he stared at the older boy’s moves, they way he punched, his kicks, how he evaded the guards’ attacks, how he expertly used the sticks…

“Are you guys getting tired? I’m shocked,” the Red Hood said mockingly as he tased a guard’s and stole another one’s gun before hitting him with it in the face. “Careful with that, you might hurt yourself! All yours, kid!”

The Red Hood tossed the guard towards Robin, who immediately knocked him out with his staff.

Robin had learned this dual takedown from Batman himself. No one else knew this move because Bruce and Dick had developed it together when they became partners. Not even his teammates knew about this fighting style. This was something only a Robin would know in order to fight alongside Batman.

_No. No, it can’t be…_

“Seems like we’re done here, Baby Bird,” the Red Hood said, staring at the unconscious bodies all around him. “If I’m not mistaken, there should a secret door on that wall. Let’s move.”

However, Robin remained where he was, his eyes wide.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” the older teen asked, searching for visible wounds on his temporary and reluctant partner.

“No… I’m… I just need a breather,” Robin answered, his heart racing in his chest.

“Are you sure? Not that I care, obviously, but you don’t look so good.”

“Yeah…”

“Alright… This way.”

Tim followed the Red Hood closely as he moved the boxes from the wall, revealing a small electronic panel.

“Jackpot!” they could hear the sound of sirens approaching from outside. The Red Hood took a hacking device from his jacket. “We have company. Let’s get out of here quickly, I really don’t want to beat up cops.”

The wall opened up to reveal a door and metal stairs going downwards. Red Hood and Robin got inside and closed the wall as the police entered the building.

“Too late to go back now,” the Red Hood said and started to walk down the stairs.

Tim followed him closely and silently, his mind racing.

* * *

 

Jason noticed how quiet the kid had become all of a sudden. He had been worried he had been hurt during the fight and was acting tough to hide it, but he didn’t have any external wounds and Jason had already asked him if he was alright. Nevertheless, he was gonna keep an eye on the younger boy. No matter how much he disliked his replacement, he wasn’t cruel enough to want him dead.

“You okay?” he asked again, staring at the boy’s face. “You’ve been quiet for a while.”

Robin nodded, all of his obvious dislike for the Red Hood seemed gone. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you passing out on me during a battle.”

“Positive,” Robin answered and stopped. “I… I just need to know something.”

The Red Hood stopped as well and faced him, frowning under his hood. “What?”

Robin bit his lip as if he was pondering his words very carefully.

“You hacked the League’s computer, so I assume you already know what we got on Edward Robb.”

Jason nodded. “I’ve read the files. You guys found a lot of stuff in a short amount of time.”

“But you were already in Hong Kong and you already had a lead on his hideout,” Robin continued. “You already knew a lot more about him than what the media revealed to the public.”

Jason sighed. From what he knew about his replacement, he was a bright kid, a genius even. The fourteen-year-old Robin in him, the one that he tried to ignore, twitched with both envy and sadness. This kid was a better Robin than he had ever been, and it hurt. He knew it shouldn’t, but it did and he felt once again as the pathetic outsider standing in front of that window during that cold, snowy night, realizing he had no place to come back anymore because it had already been taken by someone more deserving.

“Spoken like a true detective, Baby Bird. Batman would be proud. But you still haven’t made your question?”

Robin moved closer cautiously. “If I’m doing this… If I’m going with you to the hideout, I don’t want to go in blind. I have the right to know what I’m up against.”

“So you want to know what I know?”

The younger boy nodded. “I think it’s fair.”

“Alright,” the Red Hood made sure they were alone on the staircase before leaning against the wall. “Doctor Robb was part of a very large group of scientists and doctors, recruited specifically do be a part of Project Lazarus by Ra’s al Ghul himself.”

Robin’s eyes widened. “Ra’s was behind the project? Why? He already has his Pits.”

“He wanted a way to recreate the properties of the Pits to use whenever he needed and create a formula from its waters that could revive any warrior he wished to use. Sure, he can always search and train more, but losing a good warrior is a waste. However, Project Lazarus was a failure, like you guys know. Ra’s wanted perfect healed warriors and what he got were brain damaged shells of the warriors they used to be. The Lazarus Formula made their hearts beat again and healed most of their injuries and illnesses, but it wasn’t enough. Their minds were gone.”

Robin paled but his eyes never left Red Hood’s face.

“Were all the warriors… failures?” the younger teen asked gently.

“Yes. Ra’s gave up on the Project and ordered his men to wipe out everything and everyone involved,” the Red Hood went on. “Apparently, Doctor Robb had slipped out of the facility before the attack and took a sample of the formula with him. He went missing for a while before Ra’s men found that he had made a stop on Gotham, then they lost track of him for good.”

“Gotham? What was he doing in Gotham?”

The Red Hood’s eyes hardened under his helmet and his hands closed into fists. “He was seen wearing a doctor’s disguise on Arkham Asylum. He was talking to Harley Quinn.”

“No…”

“A few days later, there was a riot on the Asylum,” the Red Hood continued, his voice steady but dangerous. “Both Harley and the Joker disappeared.”

Robin was taken aback by this information, but the Red Hood knew that he was already connecting the dots inside that genius brain of his.

“So that’s how he got the money and access to the corpses. The Joker has been helping him,” Robin muttered.

“Robb is a psychopath who realized that playing God is a lot more exciting than experimenting with people. The Joker is a piece of garbage that brings death wherever he goes. They seem to get along just fine… for now,” the Red Hood said, barely restraining his disgust and rage. “There, that’s what I know. Enough talking, we have to get moving.”

The Red Hood stood up and started walking.

“You’re wrong about one thing,” the boy said softly.

The Red Hood turned around; Robin had not moved and was staring at him with a blank expression.

“What?”

“The Lazarus Project wasn’t a complete failure. There was one warrior who came back and whose body was missing from the underground facility.”

The older teen’s eyes widened, but he urged his body to remain calm and his voice steady and impassive.

 “Really? I find that very unlikely. Ra’s ordered his men to kill all the subjects because none fulfilled his requirements, you saw it on their data. There wasn’t a single successful resurrection.”

Robin did not waver and kept his eyes on Red Hood. “There was one. He wasn’t on the facility and according to his data his success rate was 89%, which they considered a successful resurrection.”

“Still not enough. He would still be brain damaged and therefore useless. They killed him too, kid. Forget it.”

“They didn’t! His body wasn’t there. It was moved from his pod, because they knew who he was and who he was connected with,” Robin’s voice raised anxiously. “They knew and that’s why they took him!”

“You’re wrong…”

“Jason Todd!”

The Red Hood felt his whole body tense as Robin yelled the name of the kid he used to see in the mirror every day. He had to force himself to stay calm and don’t flinch when the boy began walking towards him.

“His name is Jason Todd. He was Robin,” the boy went on, moving closer to the silent Red Hood. “And I know he’s alive.”


	10. His name is Jason

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know it's been a really long time since I updated. I'm sorry.
> 
> This chapter has been re-written about four times and I'm still not sure of the final result, that's one of the reasons it took me so long to update. You can thank the Arkham games for the inspiration.
> 
> I hope the wait was worth it and, as always, thank you so much for your support. Every comment filled me with joy. Thanks for reading.

**Hong Kong**

**November 18, 15:04**

“His name is Jason Todd. He was Robin. And I know he’s alive.”

Tim’s words felt childish, even to him. His voice echoed through the dark corridor before leaving the two teens in an awkward silence. He waited impatiently for Red Hood’s reaction, only hearing the sound of his own breathing when the older teen turned around and simply started walking away.

Tim’s eyes widened under his mask.

“Hey! Wait!” he said, following the Red Hood. Tim had expected a reaction. Any kind of reaction would be a welcome clue. He didn’t expect or want to be ignored, not with something this important.

“There should be an elevator at the end of this tunnel…” the older boy muttered.

“Hey! Did you hear what I said?”

“Oh! Here it is!” the Red Hood found a hidden button in the cement wall and pressed it, which resulted in a mechanic wall opening right in front of them. “They really should upgrade their security. I was expecting DNA scans.”

“I’m talking to you!”

“At least an eye scan. C’mon Robb!”

“Stop ignoring me!” Tim cried out, standing in front of the older boy. “Why don’t you say something?”

The Red Hood stared at him for a good ten seconds and pressed the down button on the elevator door. The metallic doors closed behind them and they started going down.

“I have nothing to say, Baby Bird,” the Red Hood finally answered, staring deep into Robin’s eyes under his red helmet. “If you want to believe the League kept the second Robin alive and brain damaged, feel free. It’s stupid and beneath that genius brain of yours, but you can believe whatever you want. It’s none of my business. How’s that for an answer?”

Tim opened his mouth to answer him, but the elevator stopped and the Red Hood grabbed his twin pistols.

“Talk time is over. Get ready to fight. I’m not your babysitter, if you get yourself killed, that’s on you,” he said, walking out of the elevator.

Sighing, Tim grabbed his staff and followed him down a white and silent corridor. He tried to focus all his attention searching for enemies, but he always found himself staring at the Red Hood’s back. Fortunately, he was good at multitasking.

He thought back on all the videos he had watched on Jason. His snarky remarks, his violent streak, the way he moved, his fighting style… how much would he have changed in three years? Especially after dying, being brought back and tortured? How would that shape him if he had his brain healed?

What would he think when he learned that Batman had chosen a new Robin? How would he react to him?

The first time Tim put on the uniform, he went straight to Jason Todd’s memorial glass case and stared solemnly at his predecessor’s costume. At the time, he knew this was the end of an era, the official end of Jason’s time as Robin as Tim Drake became Batman’s new partner.

The new Robin.

He had stared deep into the R symbol on Jason’s old uniform and touched his own on his chest, the only thing linking them to each other.

 _I promise I will make you proud_ , he vowed that night before following Batman to their first patrol.

After that day, Tim would stare at Jason’s uniform or his hologram and silently ask him if he was a good Robin, if Jason thought he was doing a good job, if he made Jason proud. All those conversations were one-sided. Tim knew would never receive an answer. Until now.

The Red Hood’s lenses flared as he scanned the room that appeared in front of them.

“Two armed guards in front of the door,” he whispered. “Several bodies, but no heat signatures.”

“Zombies?”

The Red Hood nodded. “They’re too still… these are only corpses. They haven’t activated yet.”

“No more guards in the room?”

“No,” Tim watched as the Red Hood unlocked the safety on his pistols.

“Good.”

Before the older teen could act, Robin burst through the door. With one swift move, he hit one of the guards with his staff, knocking him out immediately. Before the other pulled his gun on him, he used the other end of the staff to tase him on the chest and took him out with a well-aimed punch.

The Red Hood leaned against the doorframe with his hands crossed over his chest.

“You’re turning into a show-off, Baby Bird.”

Tim made sure the guards were both unconscious before he faced him. “I wasn’t going to let you shot them.”  

Tim could practically see him roll his eyes under the helmet.

“Killjoy.”

After confirming that there were no more guards or any sort of danger, they began inspecting the room. It was a laboratory, a very big and well equipped one. Tim watched in awe the state of the art microscopes and computers all over the room.

“I guess we know where Robb spent all his money now,” Red Hood said eyeing an electronic lock in front of a locked door.

Tim wasted on time and began hacking into one of the computers, compiling and reading all the data he could find.

“Robb managed to alter the Lazarus formula by changing its enzymes. It’s… quite impressive,” Tim admitted reluctantly. “Edward Robb is brilliant, too bad he's also an egomaniac psychopath. If he could use his intellect for good, who knows what he could have achieved.”

The Red Hood kneeled in front of the lock and took a small hacking device from his jacket.

“Instead he creates an army of brain dead zombies to do his bidding. We always get five crazy scientists with a genuinely good one,” he said. “At least the Light isn’t involved in this for a change. I really don’t feel like facing Slade again.”

Tim looked up from the computers. “Deathstroke? You fought him?”

The Red Hood shrugged. “Yeah. We’ve exchanged a few punches and bullets two months ago in Siberia. Old Slade is a mean son of a bitch. I was lucky he was distracted.”

“That doesn’t sound like him.”

“No, but I can’t really blame him, though,” the older teen chuckled. “He found that I and his daughter were… close and was less than happy about that.”

Tim frowned. “What? He was against you and Ravager being friends?”

The Red Hood laughed. “No, kid. He was against us having sex.”

“Oh… Oh, that’s…” Tim felt the blood rush to his face, lighting it up like a Christmas tree.

“You’re blushing, Baby Bird. That’s cute,” the other boy teased him. “C’mon! You must have heard about sex before. I mean, Bruce Wayne is infamous for his sexy dates and Nightwing… don’t get me started on Nightwing. You should be used to that by now.”

Tim forced himself to stare back at the computer, though his cheeks were still burning.

“I don’t like to pry into my allies’ private life. It’s none of my business.”

“You’re telling me the Big Bird never taught you his moves? Or his cheesy pickup lines?” the Red Hood sounded very amused, obviously taking pleasure with Tim’s uneasiness. “Did he at least taught you about the birds and the bees?”

“No. Can we talk about something else? Like the zombies outside that door?”

“Chill out, kid. I’m just messing with you,” the teen turned his head towards the electric lock and resumed hacking. “You and Nightwing get along so well that I just assumed he would share all that stuff with you… like brothers, I guess.”

Tim raised his head again. The Red Hood’s tone had changed with the last sentence, all the playfulness was suddenly gone. Even his arms seemed tense.

“Hey, listen…” Tim said but was interrupted by a beeping sound as the metal doors opened in front of them.

Robin and Red Hood walked into the room. There were transparent pods lined up in eight rows, filling the entire room. Tubes containing a green liquid connected the pods to several computers. Most of the pods were empty, but there were still dozens of bodies from all races and ages, even small children.

Looking at a dead toddler made Tim almost scream.

“This… this is terrible,” Robin muttered, his blue eyes going from body to body. “They even have babies here.”

The Red Hood stood behind him. “Apparently, Robb wanted to see what his revised formula did to dead kids.”

“That’s sick,” Tim looked at the bodies. “Poor things…”

“They’re dead, kid. They don’t feel anything anymore,” in horror, Tim watched as the Red Hood took an explosive device from his jacket.

“What are you doing?!” he grabbed the older boy’s arm.

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m shutting down his lab,” the Red Hood pulled his arm, but Tim didn’t let go. “That’s the reason we went down here in the first place.”

“You can’t just blow them up!”

“They’re corpses, kid! I’m saving them from being brought back as a super villain’s play thing. It’s the right thing to do.”

“They are someone else’s family and loved ones,” Tim cried out. “Someone will be looking for them.”

“What if there isn’t? What if no one is looking for them?” the Red Hood snapped back.

Tim blinked, surprised at the sudden anger in the older boy’s voice.

“What if these people were unwanted and unloved? Would it make it right for me to blow them up then?” the Red Hood went on, breaking free from Robin’s grasp. “No one would care if their bodies were found and buried, cremated or blown up. Nobody cared for them in life, why should they care about in death?”

Tim lowered his hands and stared deep into Red Hood’s lenses, watching his chest rise and fall rapidly as he breathed.

“Even if no one cares, it doesn’t make it right to just blown them up and make them disappear. They were alive and had a name before, we can’t just forget that even if the rest of the world does,” Tim walked towards one of the computers and quickly began searching for the right program under Red Hood watchful eye. “Look, I’ve programmed the computers to self-destruct. All the data will be gone, but the pods will remain intact for someone to find them. Robb won’t be able to use their bodies anymore so… you don’t have to use that explosive. They deserve better than being forgotten in this tunnel.”

The Red Hood looked at the explosive device in his hand. Slowly, he turned his head towards one of the children’s corpses. Tim wished he could know what he was thinking or at least see his face.

Finally, he put the explosive back in his jacket. “Let’s get going. My intel says the reanimation room is a few floors below.”

Not hiding a small, satisfied smile, Tim followed him out of the room while the computers fried all around them and the pods lost the electric current that was persevering the bodies.

His satisfaction was short-lived, however when they finally reached the elevator and realized it had a voice panel.

“Damnit! He did upgrade his security after all. I don’t suppose you brought one of Batman’s voice synthesizers?” the Red Hood punched the elevator door, it obviously remained closed.

“Not today,” Tim walked towards the door leading to the staircase, but it too required Robb’s voice. “The stairs are out of the question too… now what? There’s no way out.”

The Red Hood looked around. “There’s always a way out.”

Tim felt a shiver down his spine. Batman always said that when they were trapped in patrol and he was right 99% of the time. It could be just a coincidence. The phrase was very simple and could easily be used without knowing Batman at all. However, add that to the list of things the Red Hood and already said and shown and the conclusion was he would have to be someone who knew almost as much about Batman and the others as Tim.

_What if… what if Red Hood is…_

“Bingo! There’s a ventilation shaft on that wall,” the older teen took out a claw gun and used it to take down the ventilation cover. “Let’s go.”

Tim followed the Red Hood down the ventilation shaft for several minutes in complete silence aside from his breathing. He could feel his heart racing in his chest.

_The only way to heal Jason’s brain damage would be with the Lazarus Pit. If the League took him and tossed him in there, then…_

“Finally, we’re here,” the Red Hood kicked the ventilation cover and they jumped into the staircase. Tim looked down, but he couldn’t see where the stairs ended. “Looks like we need to do the rest by foot. Let’s go.”

_He can’t be… If Jason had been completely healed, he wouldn’t turn on Batman. He would have come back. He wouldn’t blame Batman for his death. Would he?_

“Hey, Baby Bird? This isn’t the time to be daydreaming,” the Red Hood turned around to look at Tim. He wasn’t hiding his emotions, so the older boy could clearly see that he was nervous. “What’s wrong?”

Tim bit his lower lip. He had no idea how to voice his thoughts without screwing up everything.

“How old are you?”

The young man tilted his head. “Seriously? That’s what’s bothering you? My age?”

“You can’t be older than twenty, right?”

“Very well, detective. That’s a good estimate. Now, can we focus on finding the deranged scientist?”

“I was thinking about Jason.”

The Red Hood froze for a brief moment, but quickly recomposed himself.

“Christ! Not this shit again…”

“It’s important. I was thinking what I would say to him if he was here, right in front of me.”

The young man known as the Red Hood was standing in front of him now, his muscles tense, and his eyes glaring at him through the helmet’s lenses while Tim’s gut twisted into an anxious knot.

“You’re wasting time, kid. There’s nothing to say to the dead.”

Tim took a hesitant step toward him, never breaking eye contact.

“I never knew him, so I have no idea what I could possibly tell him. Especially because I’m also the person who replaced him as Robin. I guess if he was here, I would tell that I’m sorry for everything that happened to him.”

The Red Hood closed his hands into fists. He was shaking. “Don’t say another word.”

If Jason had grown after he had been brought back from the dead, he would be around seventeen years old by now and definitely taller than the small fourteen-year-old Tim was used to watch in the hologram or Batman’s secret training videos.

The Red Hood was almost as tall as Dick.

This person who had taken the Joker’s old alias, who resented Batman and his allies, who knew so much about the Lazarus Project, who fought like a member of the Bat Family, who knew who they all were, who talked and felt so familiar, who acted like a Robin…

 “Ja—“

 “No. He’s gone, kid,” the Red Hood interrupted abruptly. “If you’re looking for that Robin, you’re wasting your time. You won’t find him.”

With that, the Red Hood turned around and started walking down the stairs.

“I don’t believe that,” Tim went on, following the older vigilante, staring at his back as he walked away. “I know he’s alive.”

The Red Hood chuckled bitterly. “You ‘ _know’_ , huh? I thought you were a smart kid who stuck with facts, not useless hunches.”

“I am. Jason’s body was never found and that’s a fact. The League of Shadows was involved and they knew who he was, that’s another fact,” Tim moved in front of the older teen, forcing him to stare right at his face. “And then… there’s you.”

The Red Hood froze, his gloved hands closed around the metal bars of the stairs as he towered over the smaller boy.

“What about me?” he asked slowly, coldly.

Tim forced himself not to look away from his gaze. He could be so wrong about this, so terribly wrong, but everything pointed in that direction. All the pieces of the puzzle seemed to fit together. He knew he was right. He felt it deep in his gut. Just like when he knew Batman was actually Bruce Wayne.

“Why did you call yourself the Red Hood?” Tim asked.

“The name was available,” the older boy shrugged.

“No. It wasn’t that. You choose that name for a reason… because it was Joker’s old alias.”

The Red Hood closed his hands into fists. “Watch it, kid.”

Tim didn’t stop. He couldn’t even if he wanted to. “You know me, Bruce and Dick. You know who we all are. Back at the warehouse, you fought like one of us. We were so in sync, that we both knew each others’ moves without saying a word. You did the dual takedown that Batman thought us. Only a Robin would know that move, no one else.”

“Shut up,” the Red Hood hissed.

“I know who you are!”

Tim gasped as the Red Hood grabbed him by the neck and tossed him against the wall.

“SHUT UP!” the older vigilante spat angrily, his hands closing around Robin’s neck. “You know nothing about me. _Nothing_!”

Tim’s head was spinning from hitting the wall, black dots danced in front of his eyes as he tried to push the Red Hood’s hands away from his neck as the older vigilante began to strangle him.

“S-Stop…” Tim whimpered, he couldn’t breathe. “Stop… please…”

The Red Hood’s eyes widened and he immediately let him go. Tim fell on the metal stairs, coughing and breathing heavily as he rubbed his bruised neck.

“I… sorry…” the older boy’s voice broke. “I’m… I didn’t…”

Tim looked up and watched as the Red Hood backed away from him, his hands shaking violently. He seemed horrified of what he had just done, just like when he had almost shot him in the alley a few hours ago.

 _He’s afraid,_ Tim thought, still gasping for air. _He’s afraid of himself._

“You were right… This was a mistake. I should have never brought you,” he said bleakly before he turned around and started to run down the stairs.

* * *

 

_You’re a monster, Todd. You’re nothing but a zombie fuelled by rage._

Jason kept running away from the kid. He had almost killed him. Again. He couldn’t control himself, just like an animal.

The kid knew who he was. He had been so stupid and arrogant that he didn’t even think that revealing that he knew Batman’s secret identity could out him too. This Robin was a genius, he had figured out Batman’s identity by himself. Of course, he would be able to figure out who the Red Hood really was. Jason had given him all the info he needed. He might as well have a neon sign over his head with his name on it.

So he lost his mind. He saw everything red as the kid closed in on his identity and his first reaction was to strangle him to shut him up. He had let the hate storm take hold of him again. He was no better than a common killer.

Bruce’s words echoed in his mind, words he had listened to hundreds of times from the recorder Talia had given him. Words that he had strongly tried to deny.

_“No matter what differences we had over the years, I've always known that Dick had a gift. Jason had only… rage.”_

The seventeen-year-old felt hot tears brimming in his eyes and a painful knot in his throat as he willed himself not to cry. His head was throbbing and he felt like throwing up.

He couldn’t deny it now, could he? He couldn’t say that he was more than just rage, not after almost killing his replacement twice. Maybe the Jason Todd who had died in the desert had something more inside of him, something better, but the person that came back from the dead was little more than a high functioning zombie controlled by anger.

_You’re hollowed out, Todd. There’s nothing good inside you anymore._

“Wait!” the boy’s voice called hoarsely above him, Jason heard his steps as he ran after him.

What the hell was this kid thinking?

“Go back upstairs! Go! Call Batman! Call the League! I don’t care,” the Red Hood yelled as he ran away from him. “Just stay away from me.”

_Stay away before I do something unforgivable._

But the kid didn’t use this opportunity to escape or to call his allies. He jumped down a flight of stairs and landed on Jason’s back, making them both fall on the metal ground.

“What the hell is wrong with you, kid? I was going to kill you,” he yelled at the boy on top of him, trying to pull him off. “Go away!”

“No!” Robin grabbed his leather coat, refusing to budge an inch. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I was going to _strangle_ you! Do you have a fucking death wish?” the Red Hood tried to punch the kid, but Robin grabbed his fists and tried his best to immobilize the taller boy. He had to roll over and pin down the kid to keep him still. “What’s the matter with you? I’m not keeping you captive anymore, so why the fuck aren’t you running?”

“I can’t,” Robin answered, struggling to stand up.

“And why the hell not?”

“Because I know!” Robin yelled. “I know it’s you, Jason!”

The Red Hood froze as if all the blood in his veins had turned into ice. His hands slowly dropped Robin’s arms as his eyes were fixed on the younger boy’s expectant face, lingering on the red marks his hands had made around the kid’s neck.

_“I've always known that Dick had a gift. Jason had only… rage.”_

“It’s true, isn’t it?”

Slowly, the Red Hood stood up and turned his back on the boy, avoiding his hopeful gaze. Everything was silent aside from the sounds of the kid’s breathing and distant drops of water against metal.

“Please,” the boy whispered behind him, also standing up. “Tell me what happened to you.”

The Red Hood remained silent, his left hand grabbing a metal bar firmly as if to steady himself. His helmet felt too tight around his face, but he didn’t take it off. He controlled his breathing and waited until his heart beat returned to normal.

“We can help you,” Robin went on.

The Red Hood laughed bitterly. Help? No. They would never help him. They didn’t even want him to be alive in the first place. Any feelings Batman and his clan had towards him were pity and regret, nothing more. Once they found out who the Red Hood was, they would stick to their precious morals. Their idea of help was an Arkham cell where they could keep him locked up and drugged so they would never have to worry or think about him again.

Just like the Joker.

“Please…” Robin pleaded. “Come home.”

Home. Once upon a time, he thought he had a home and a family. He thought he was wanted. But everything had been a lie. People who loved you didn’t throw you away like garbage, they didn’t give up on you, they didn’t call you a failure and replace you with someone better so they could forget you ever existed.

“I don’t have a home,” the Red Hood answered, finally turning around and pointing a gun at the stunned Robin. “I never did.”

The explosion shook the tunnel, collapsing several parts of it. Jason moved quickly as he instinctually grabbed Robin’s arm when the staircase beneath them collapsed.

For a few seconds, their eyes met while Robin dangled dangerously over the dark pit, as they both became painfully aware that all Red Hood had to do was drop him to finally get rid of him.

Robin’s arm started to slide.

“Please,” the boy whispered, never taking his eyes of the older teen’s. “Jason…”

The Red Hood blinked and his grip grew stronger.

“Hold on!” the Red Hood screamed, grabbing a metal pipe with one hand while holding Robin with the other. He glanced at the wall on their right. “The wall!”

Robin followed his gaze and threw himself towards the cement wall, using it to pull himself to what remained of the metal stairs next to Red Hood.

“You okay?” the older teen asked, eyeing the panting boy.

“I’m fine. Just a few scratches,” Robin looked at him. “I knew you wouldn’t drop me.”

“Don’t be so sure,” the Red Hood moved away from Robin and looked down at the bottom of the destroyed staircase, thought the smoke made it almost impossible.

The kid stood up and slowly walked towards him. “Thank you.”

Jason almost shivered. What was it with this damn kid? Why did he keep coming closer instead of leaving?

“Don’t thank me,” he answered flatly and ignored his gaze. “Seems like the generators blew up. Robb is already down there with his zombies.”

Robin moved closer to Red Hood and eyed him warily. “How do you know?”

“It takes a lot of electricity to reanimate the corpses even with the Lazarus formula. Mary Shelley got that part right on Frankenstein. We have to hurry.”

Robin nodded and they used the twisted metal to go down a few floors until they found a safe staircase that hadn’t collapsed. Silently, Jason drew his guns as they ran down the stairs into a wide open door.

They both stopped dead in their tracks the moment they walked through the doorway. In front of them, over a thousand zombies stared dumbly into the air with white, hollow eyes, their limbs swinging from side to side as if they were puppets with a few strings cut.

Overseeing this horrific sight on top of a metal platform, stood Dr. Edward Robb, impeccably dressed in a black suit, and…

Jason felt his heart racing inside his chest. He clenched his teeth and aimed his guns towards the platform.

“Joker.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tim finally confronts Jason with his identity and Jason realizes that he painted himself into a corner. Poor Jay. And now they also have the face the Joker for the first time since his death.
> 
> As force Bruce's line about Jason only having rage, unfortunately that's directly taken from the Pre-New 52 comics.
> 
> I hope you guys liked it.


End file.
